COSTA CONCORDIA disaster and the challenges ahead for the Cruising Industry

Five people have now died on the COSTA CONCORDIA and 15 are still missing, so unfortunately the number is likely to increase, an official enquiry of the causes of this dramatic accident, the worst with a cruise ship is under way but is likely to take months until we know the reasons behind this disaster. The pictures of the stricken  massive COSTA CONCORDIA  lying helpless on her starboard side is sending shock waves through the Cruising Industry, the past decade saw a dramatic increase in the number of new built cruise ships and customers, in the UK alone 1.7 million people decided to take a cruise for their holidays, this accident is unlikely to put off regular cruisers, the industry's fear should concentrate on " new cruisers " a vital sector for the growth of the industry. Any form of travel carries risk and travelling by sea, even on these mega cruise ships is no exception. Taking a cruise is without a doubt the safest and more secure holiday and accidents like this were unheard of, the death toll and injuries, regrettable as it is, are on  this accident relatively small, the ship carried  over 4200 people on board. Ships today are equipped with the most sophisticated navigational features and are extremely safe and stable despite the non-stoppable increase on Gross Tonnage