Cruise operators called on Thursday for the United Nations maritime agency to improve ship safety in the wake of the Italian liner disaster.
“Safety is the cruise industry's number one priority,” Christine Duffy, President of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), told a press conference in London.
“We are calling on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to undertake a comprehensive evaluation from the findings of the Costa Concordia investigation.”
Divers were on Thursday combing the wreck of the Costa Concordia for a sixth day, in an increasingly desperate search for survivors of a disaster that has claimed at least 11 lives.
Rescuers were still looking for 21 missing people amid the wreckage of the vessel, which was carrying more than 4,200 when it hit rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio on Friday and keeled over.
The CLIA, which represents 25 cruise lines serving North America, said the cruise industry must remain “one of the very safest recreational industries globally”.
“All our members recognise the seriousness of these events and want to ensure that we apply the lessons learned from this tragic event,” Duffy said.
The IMO, which oversees safety in international shipping and efforts to prevent marine pollution, had said on Monday that it may re-examine international safety regulations for large passenger ships.
The UN agency had been due to launch World Maritime Day on Monday under the theme “One hundred years after the Titanic”, but cancelled the event after the Costa Concordia ran aground. - AFP