Chinese boat hits Philippine reef; bad ride for wildlife; filled with meat of protected species

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Chinese vessel that ran into a protected coral reef in the southwestern Philippines held evidence of even more environmental destruction inside: more than 10,000 kilograms (22,000 pounds) of meat from a protected species, the pangolin or scaly anteater. The steel-hulled vessel hit an atoll on April 8 at the Tubbataha National Marine Park, a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site on Palawan island. Coast guard spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Armand Balilo said Monday that 400 boxes, each containing 25 to 30 kilograms of frozen pangolins, were discovered during a second inspection of the boat Saturday at Tubbataha national marine park.

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Chinese vessel on Philippine coral reef caught with illegal pangolin meat; Ship’s crew arrested after running into protected Tubbataha marine park with more than 10,000kg of protected scaly anteater theguardian

€1m cap on Costa Concordia fine

The Independent
Costa Cruises, the company whose Concordia cruise liner capsized in January last year with the loss of 32 lives, has made a deal with an Italian court that will limit its criminal liability for a fine of just €1 million. The plea bargain payment, which curtails the cruise operator’s criminal culpability for the disaster, is a set tariff. It means Costa Cruises will not face any more criminal charges and will now aim to participate in the forthcoming trial as an injured party.

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Costa Concordia company to pay $1.3 million fine for shipwreck

DigitalJournal.com
The disaster that was the Costa Concordia, which sank on Jan. 13, 2012 with the death of 32, continues to make news. Today, the Costa Crociere, a division of Miami-based Costa Carnival, owners of the ship, reached an out-of-court settlement.Costa Crociere will pay a $1.3 million fine and thus evade going to court over the tragedy. Had their been a court case it would have been lengthy and costly and may have opened them up to further lawsuits, that though the company maintains fault for the disaster lies only with the ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino.

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Carnival: No reimbursement to US for disabled ship

Carnival Corp. says all maritime interests must assist without question those in trouble at sea, a duty that would not include reimbursing the U.S. government nearly $780,000 for costs associated with the rescue of the crippled Triumph cruise ship. Carnival released letters Friday replying to an inquiry by U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, about the Triumph stranding and the cruise line’s overall safety record. Among Rockefeller’s questions was whether Carnival would repay the government for Coast Guard costs in the Triumph case as well as $3.4 million to the Coast Guard and Navy from the 2010 stranding of the Carnival Splendor in the Pacific Ocean.

Carnival: No reimbursement to US for disabled ship Contra Costa Times




Victims of Costa shipwreck mark anniversary Vancouver Sun
Costa Concordia anniversary Vancouver Sun

More time needed to remove Concordia wreck Vancouver Sun

Judge Fines Costa $1.3M for Concordia


TIME World
(ROME) — A judge in Tuscany fined Italian cruise line Costa Crociere SpA 1 million euros ($1.3 million) Wednesday for the 2012 shipwreck of the Concordia cruise ship that killed 32 people. Costa had asked for a plea bargain deal to respond to the administrative sanctions, which under Italian law are for companies whose employees commit crimes. Judge Valeria Montesarchio of the Grosseto tribunal accepted the plea after a hearing.

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Court considerations one year later

International Law Office
On January 13 2012 the Costa Concordia capsized while carrying around 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members; 32 people were killed in the accident. The disaster is one of the worst in the cruise industry’s recent history, and will likely be the largest marine insurance loss on record. Costa Cruises, which operated the Concordia, initially offered survivors a 30% discount off future cruises, but the proposal was dismissed as “insulting”, so Costa subsequently offered €11,000 (around $14,250) in compensation to uninjured passengers for items lost and any psychological damages, plus a further €3,000 for reimbursement of costs incurred after the event.…
Court considerations one year later
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Ship’s bell is missing, platform in place

DigitalJournal.com
The captain of the Costa Concordia, Francesco Schettino, is accused of taking the 114,500 ton ship, twice the size of the RMS Titanic, too close to Giglio to ‘salute’ a former colleague who lives there; the ship hit a reef and suffered a huge gash. A crucial underwater platform that will help to raise the Costa Concordia was put into place last week at the wreckage site off the coast of the Italian island of Giglio. Also, late in March the ship’s bell went missing.

Costa Concordia news: Ship’s bell is missing, platform in place Digital Journal

Costa Concordia Salvage: Crews Install Largest of Five Subsea Support Platforms

The salvage operation to remove the Costa Concordia cruise ship from the shores of Giglio hit a milestone today when crews positioned the largest of five subsea support platforms onto the seabed next to the wreck. The platform, known as Platform No. 1, will be secured to the granite seabed in order to provide support when uprighting the ship.

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Crippled cruise ship secured to Ala. terminal after breaking loose; shipyard

MOBILE, Ala. – The crippled cruise ship whose sewage-filled breakdown in the Gulf of Mexico subjected thousands to horrendous conditions tore loose Wednesday from the dock where it’s being repaired, lumbered downriver and crunched into a cargo ship. Tug boats maneuver around the Carnival cruise ship Triumph as she rests against a dock on the east side of the Mobile River after becoming dislodged from its mooring at BAE Shipyard during high winds Wednesday.Wind gusts near hurricane strength shoved the 900-foot Carnival Triumph free from its mooring in downtown Mobile, Ala., where the ship was brought in a five-day ordeal that began when an engine fire stranded it off of Mexico in February. Hours later, four tug boats used several mooring lines to secure the ship to the cruise terminal.A 20-foot gash about 2 to 3 feet wide was visible about halfway up the hull from the water and it wrapped partway around the stern. Underneath the gashed area, two levels of railing were dangling and broken. Electric cables that had been plugged in on shore were dangling from the port — or left — side of the ship. Carnival said damage, though, was limited.

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