Cruise industry re-assures UK passengers after Costa Concordia accident

The Passenger Shipping Association [PSA] has sought to reassure cruise ship passengers, following the Costa Concordia tragedy in Tuscany.

The Costa Concordia ran aground on the west coast of Italy on Friday. After a prolonged rescue operation, 29 passengers and crew were still missing, according to latest reports (1pm, January 17). Rescue workers continue to search the capsized vessel. There had been over 4000 people on board.

All 35 Britons on board – 23 passengers and 12 crew – have been accounted for, accoridng to reports.

The PSA, the trade association for the cruise and ferry industry in the UK, extended its deepest sympathies to the families of passengers and crew who had lost loved ones, and to all those who had been on board.

But, in the statement, the PSA also sought to reassure all those who have booked cruise holidays that the Costa Concordia accident is an extremely rare event and that safety standards on cruise liners are a matter of the utmost seriousness.

"We would also like to reassure other cruise ship passengers that all our member lines are subject to the highest safety standards around the world according to international maritime requirements," said the statement.  

"We will continue to work closely with all interested parties, as the facts are fully developed in this matter, to learn from this tragic event and continue our efforts to further enhance the safety of cruise ships worldwide.

"Accidents such as this one are an extremely rare occurrence in the cruise industry, and cruising continues to be one of safest means of travel among all types of vacationing."

Last year over 1.7 million Britons went on cruise holidays, with the cruise ship industry worldwide said to be worth £22bn.

Photograph (Getty Images) shows the Costa Concordia cruise ship whcih ran aground on the Italian coast on Friday (January 13).