Shannon Copeland/Contributing Writer
AP Photo by Pier Paolo Cito
On Jan. 13, the Costa Concordia capsized off the coast of Giglio in Tuscany, Italy.
After a series of investigations, it was revealed that Francesco Schettino, the captain steered the ship too close to the island and as a result 18 passengers have been reported dead, and 24 are still missing.
Costa Concordia is part of the Costa Cruises fleet, a subsidiary of the Carnival Cruise line.
Carnival’s CEO Gerald R. Cahill sponsors the University’s Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.
The funding Carnival provides goes toward scholarships, grants, student teaching and even a new and enhanced student center that was completed last March.
The Dean of the CSHTM, Mike Hampton said, “This incident will not affect the CSHTM financially; seeing that Carnival has adequate insurance to tend to this matter.”
Kathie A. Alexander, director of budget & human resources at the CSHTM said, “As far as we know, there will be no effects. Carnival would have to inform us if there are any, but they have not.”
So far, neither Carnival nor Costa Concordia have given any statements about financial troubles; the Italian company that owns the Costa Concordia cruise ship offered to compensate passengers in the amount of $14,000 each. The company will also compensate for the cost of the cruise, medical and transport expenditure.
With regards to Costa’s image and reputation, there have been lawsuits from not only passengers, but crewmembers as well.
Gary Lobaton said he was not made aware of the “dangerous conditions until it was too late to abandon the ship.”
Some passengers were outraged when they were offered compensation and a 30% discount on their next trip. They remained firm in their decision carryout their lawsuit with an objective of gaining $12,877, compared to the $14,000 that Costa offered.
Rosemary Ravinal, a graduate from School of Journalism and Mass Communication’s Marketing program said, “I predict [the incident] will improve their safety standards; because of this hard blow, as with the BP oil spill, they will apply proper crisis management and they will come out stronger.”
“It is already reflecting in their cancellations and considering the incident was graphically documented, including the death and missing total passengers will think twice about travelling with Costa,” Ravinal said. “Also, passengers will opt to choose a different vessel.”
Assistant Professor Lynne Farber in the advertising department at the SJMC said, “I believe Costa will rebound from this crisis. People have short-term memory. So I think within one year’s time, this will not be as fresh in memory as it is now. I think Costa made a good move by providing compensation and a 30percent discount. Also, they had officials at the scene within hours.”
Farber, who lectures a crisis management class mentioned, “It was a smart decision for Carnival to differentiate between their many vessels by giving them different names.”
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