Lessons Leart from Costa Concordia

13 January 2012 the cruise ship Costa Concordia ran aground off Italy’s west coast with 4000 on board. A mass evacuation was organised, a complex and demanding procedure. The experience gained from this incident is of great interest of rescue services all over Europe. Therefore the Italian Civil Protection Department organised, in cooperation with the European Commission, an international workshop. Two days the lessons learned from the Costa Concordia were shared with rescue services from all over Europe. Luc Wassenberg working for the MIRG-EU project took part. Main conclusion: In order to execute a successful evacuation plans must be available and international collaboration of rescue services is essential.

To learn more about the Emergency Response Management to control the Costa Concordia incident, check the website of the Italian Civil Protection.

MIRG EX is an international joint partnership. Safety Region Zeeland (NL), which brings together crisis management, fire fighters and medical assistance, is lead partner. The other partners in the project are: the Fire Brigades of Antwerp, Beveren and Ghent (BE). These brigades are linked to important international ports, that accommodate large chemical production plants. Being able to effectively fight fires on board ships is simply essential. In addition to the fire brigades, the Federal Organisation of Public Civil Assistance in Brugge, the Agency for Maritime and Coastal Services-Shipping Assistance Division and the Maatschappij van de Brugse Zeehaven nv (Zeebrugge Port Authority) are partners in the MIRG-EX project. The French Service départemental d’incendie et de secours de Pas-de-Calais and the English Kent Fire and Rescue Service complete the partnership. Both are confronted with heavy traffic on the Channel and the North Sea. An incident may be just around the corner, but this doesn’t mean it can be easily reached let alone be dealt with. Working with similar teams on both shores, reduces will help to reduce response time.