There is absolutely no reason for this disaster to affect the future plans for Maimon....if a plane goes down the other side of the world does it affect Puerto Plata airport? Of course not. Even though Costa Cruise Lines are owned by the Carnival Corporation, which is the company behind the building of the cruise ship terminal, there is no reason to think that they will deviate from their plans.
I worked on Costa Cruise lines for 5 years and so this disaster has hit very close to home for me. When you work on a ship you always think about what could potentially happen but never really expect anything to happen especially when you consider the technology they have onboard. Lots of rumors are flying around and the truth will eventually come out but this was a grave mistake, a human error that should definitely not have happened. I know these waters very well as we sailed them every week when and it all bridge officers know how dangerous this coast line is. My heart goes out to all the victims and hope and pray that no more bodies are lying inside the ship. I have spent the last 24 hours talking to friends that I used to work with and we all know people that work onboard the Costa Concordia and thankfully they are all safe and sound. I have also seen a message from one of the staff members that made it ashore of a lifeboat and her side of the story was one that was completely believable. Many passengers are reporting that the evacuation procedures were a nightmare but in less than two hours over 4000 people were evacuated….that simply would not be possible if there was no organization during the evacuation procedures. Every single crew member on that ship was trained on every aspect of safety and security. They all know how to lower lifeboats and life rafts, they all know how to control lifeboats, they all know what provisions are onboard a lifeboat, they all know how many different fire extinguishers are onboard and what they are used for, they all know how to use breathing apparatus and how to wear fire retardant suits, they all know how to control fire doors and water tight doors...I could go on but I am sure you get the point, all crew members are very well trained. I am sure that some of them panicked, who wouldn't, but for the most part they all did their duties and none of them expect any thanks, it is part of what we do.