Saturday, January 14, 2012

How to respond to a cruise ship sinking

The recent sinking of the Costa Concordia (yes, some people are calling it a grounding while others are calling it a sinking) has many people asking how it could happen.

At Amver we don't speculate on how these incidents happen, we focus on the response.

What is Amver? 

We coordinate search and rescue at sea using commercial ships. Read more about how it works here.

People may also wonder what sorts of plans are in place when a cruise ship does end up in trouble.

The United States Coast Guard has a robust Mass Rescue Operations program. In fact, there are international standards for cruise ships to prepare for such incidents. What sort of plans? Here are an example of the content available on mass rescue.

International Maritime Organization Guidance Documents on Mass Rescue (links to PDF files)
Alaska Maritime Mass Rescue Operations Job Aids
The Amver community is keeping the passengers, crew, and responders in our thoughts and prayers. Need to speak to someone about Mass Rescue or Amver? Contact us here.

Photo credit: Fotolia

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