(Brussels, 14 January 2012) ‘The European Cruise Council is deeply concerned to hear of the incident onboard the Costa Concordia and wishes to express its sincere sympathies to the passengers and crew who were on board’ says ECC Secretary General Tim Marking.
He added ‘On behalf of the European Cruise Industry we would also like to pay tribute to all those who worked tirelessly to
evacuate the ship and to help minimise casualties.’
He went on to say: ‘While all our focus should rightly be on attending to the immediate incident at hand there will, of course, be a full and thorough investigation into the causes of this event, and the full cooperation of both the company and the wider industry is assured.’
The European Cruise Council (ECC) would also like to reassure other cruise ship passengers that all ECC member companies operate to the highest safety standards around the world and according to international maritime requirements. During the past two decades, cruise lines have maintained the best safety record in the travel industry while transporting more than 90 million people throughout the world. Ships’ crews undertake regular training and drills for emergency situations, including the evacuation of a vessel. This training includes scenario training to cover different incidents, and the ships themselves are required to comply with stringent regulations covering every aspect of their build and operation.
For people worried about families or friends onboard the vessel a list of emergency contact numbers is provided at Annex 1.
Mark Watts
Media Spokesman for the ECC
+32 474 06 01 85
markwatts@lpbrussels.com
Notes for Editors:
1. The European Cruise Council (ECC) is the association representing the leading cruise companies operating in Europe. ECC has 30 cruise members and 34 associate members. Its objective is to promote the interests of cruise ship operators within Europe, liaising closely with the EU institutions on policy related to transport, environment, health, consumer affairs, tax and tourism. In addition, its aim is to bring forward the benefits of cruising to a wider public audience.
EMERGENCY CONTACT NUMBERS
Italy 848505050 New Markets +390104206099 Austria 00438109006565 Germany +4940570121314 France +33155475555 Spain +34934875685 Portugal +34914185951 UK 08453510552 Benelux +33 1 5547 5576 Switzerland - D 0800556020 Switzerland - F 0800556020 Brazil 00551121233655 Buenos Aires 00541145907777 US 800-462-6782
