An approach to risk evaluation in connection with fire scenarios from a cruise ship

The main threat from ship accidents is connected to the transport of chemical/petrochemical products and possible environmental impact from leakages. However, in case of sensitive environmental targets, a serious threat can be represented by cruise ship too, as demonstrated by Costa Concordia, a perfect example of a modern cruise ship that capsized in 2012, under calm sea and clear visibility conditions near the shore of Giglio Isle, Italy. This paper approaches cruise risk assessment in a vulnerable area located about 25 km East of Genoa with 13 km of coastline into the Ligurian gulf. The framework allows the attainment of cautious values of the maximum affected and hazardous areas, in connection with fire scenarios and smoke spreading. The conservative results are to be considered in setting-up emergency planning with appropriate response equipment, fire-fighting and lightering resources and can be a powerful tool to design optimal ship route and temporary docking points for cruise tourism, thereby balancing economic issues and inherent safety criteria.