The heads obviously do best down in the sand, just like in the commercial passenger ship industry 20 years ago!

http://www.synfo.com/news/allnews.asp?id=15382#

 

La Diva is only the latest but certainly not the last of several incidents and severe accidents onboard large yachts recent years, again fortunately without fatalities.

People in the industry openly admit only sheer luck and coincidents are the only reason for this, yet refusing to bring up the sensitive matter on the agenda for an open debate.

 

The history repeating itself and the scenario from the cruise and ferry sector, where a number of major disasters with hundreds and hundreds of casualties must occur before the industry awakened and realized something must be done!

The result is today’s situation with seaborne transports as the without comparison safest means of transportation. But at a price of about 3.000 lives…

 

I have no doubts that most professionals in the industry are aware and concerned of the situation and that the only probable reason for change is that fatal accident!

But how can we convey the message to concerned people without intimidating and hamper business? That’s the million dollar question, I would say…

 

Concluding; I feel kind of discouraged, but also sad, asking why the industry can’t realize the perhaps uncomfortable but serious situation?

Even though not surprised over the reluctance to realize the inevitable facts, I dread the result of such accident will be actually worse that the ones we experienced in the commercial industry.

On a passenger ship, people are merely cargo, as in the yachting world we most often speaking friends and family.

 

Victims on a ferry tends to disperse as foggy statistics after a while, lost family members are remembered forever, the guilt unpronounced…  

The latter must be hard to live with, especially if one knew it could have been avoided…