The Passenger Shipping Association has issued a statement to reassure the public that the grounding of Costa Concordia is an isolated incident.
The statement said: “Our thoughts are with those passengers and crew involved with Costa Concordia.
“Incidents of this nature are isolated and very rare. Ships’ crews undertake rigorous training, drills and scenarios for emergency situations including the evacuation of a vessel. The ships themselves comply with stringent regulations and procedures from the governing maritime authorities covering every aspect of their build and operation.
“While the 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.”