[GATOR NAVY]

Go to the link to see graphics of the ship's track and some videos. Pretty insane track cutting through that narrow channel between those rocks. Measured on Google Earth the passage is 76 yards wide, rock to rock. Obviously in hindsight passing just a little further offshore but safely to seaward would have been the smart choice.

Link to NGA chart 53135

[GATOR NAVY]

Ping. I’m a regular reader of gCaptain. I know you linked this on the other thread but I thought the track info deserved its own thread.

[svcw]

This is just so strange.
I read on an English version of a Rome newspaper that the Captain has been arrested.
The accounts from the passengers are interesting.
In one newspaper there was a reference to the engines being interrupted by resonance harmonics. What the heck is that in reference to engines.

[unkus]

That’s a huge mess to clean up.

[svcw]

Very interesting link.
The videos are REALLY interesting, the charts are too but I have know idea how to read them. (very well anyway)
Thanks anyway.

[PA Engineer]

I have been following this closely on Cruise Critic. It is like a FreeRepublic site for cruising. There has been a lot of good links and info. This page of one thread:

Post 881 is of interest. Of course I'm not discounting the issue of power failure.

For your reference.

[al baby]

Im going to say it could it be terrorism ?

[dr_lew]

None of these make sense except the one with the big red X, which is where the ship foundered. It’s prow is pointed straight at the harbor just to the south, as is evident from news photos which show the harbor entrance lighthouse in the foreground.

The only sensible interpretation is that the ship was making for the port and ran hard aground at the spot where it lies. Consider the news reports where passengers reported the shock of the grounding as the first indication of trouble, followed by dissembling and inaction by the crew.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

I’m interested in following this story and would like to be informed about the facts of the investigation. It’s a shocking catastrophe.

If you decide to do a ping list on this topic, please add me to it. I personally like cruising and plan to leave March 17 on the Celebrity Silhouette.

[TalBlack]

Used to be, in any news story involving a ship, they’d give length and displacement as amatter of course. It’d be nice to know what size ship we’re talking about here.

[Chode]

how did it sink to the opposite side on the hole in the hull with the with the huge piece of rock sticking out of it??? i would think it would of gone down on that side

[grey_whiskers]

should be replaced by

Cheers!

[DUMBGRUNT]

The recovery will be intersting.

A great article on that topic!

High Tech Cowboys of the Deep Seas: The Race to Save the Cougar Ace
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/magazine/16-03/ff_seacowboys?currentPage=all

They’re a motley mix: American, British, Swedish, Panamanian. Each has a specialty — deep-sea diving, computer modeling, underwater welding, big-engine repair. And then there’s Habib, the guy who regularly helicopters onto the deck of a sinking ship, greets whatever crew is left, and takes command of the stricken vessel...

Within minutes of notification, TITAN can mobilize specialized equipment and a worldwide network of highly qualified salvage masters, engineers and naval architects, along with technical and operations personnel catered toward any salvage operation. This ensures TITAN’s clients the fastest, most professional emergency salvage response service available, regardless of the location and scope of the incident.

[Mister Da]

Excellent graphics & video! Thanks a bunch for posting this!

[dfwgator]

Just uncovered, secret video of the Captain in boating school.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=WKMgCNmZlSM