As you all may know I love to go on a cruise, I find it relaxing and a pretty luxurious holiday which is fantastic value for money. Along with many others I was shocked to hear that the Costa Concordia ran aground and capsized soon after leaving the Italian port of Civitavecchia at the start of her Mediterranean cruise. It has puzzled shipping experts as to why such a modern and well-equipped vessel should have run aground in well-charted waters. The Costa Concordia, which cost around £300m and entered service just 6 years ago, is very familiar with the voyage which it makes weekly. There are a large number of possibilities ranging from human error, to technical failure, to a combination of the two. How it came to deviate from its course by 3-4 nautical miles, and why it capsized so quickly, will be central for investigators trying to establish the cause of the accident.

What is certain is that it will not put me off cruising, just in the same way as when a motoring accident is reported I do not stop driving my car. The investigation is beginning and the ships “black box” has been taken off which will no doubt focus on why a modern ship, with the latest safety equipment, travelling on the same route it travels 52 times every year, seemingly veered off course and hit what the cruise company has described as “a big rock”.