Good News Line - January 2012: page 1 | page 2 | page 3
“It Happens on His Watch”!
2012 has already been an interesting and challenging year: even chaotic. An old maxim comes to mind – “expect the unexpected”! Consider the dramatic events off the Tuscany coast. Thousands of passengers had set off on a New Year cruise of a lifetime yet it ended in tragedy and chaos. The luxury cruise liner Costa Concordia foundered and ran aground: we have all seen the pictures. Much went wrong. It should never have run aground in well charted waters. Evacuation procedures appeared chaotic and tardy. And, regarding the ship’s captain, there has been much speculation about his conduct. Serving in the Royal Navy for 34 years I feel able to make a couple of observations.
A good captain always puts the safety of his ship and crew (passengers too) first. He would be the last man to leave his ship. This conduct was exemplified 30 years ago during the Falklands conflict. But the tragedy off Tuscany is but one of many awful events this year. As I compose this message the dead are still being counted in Northern Nigeria and South Sudan; meanwhile the crisis in Syria continues to worsen.
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