New rules demanding passenger muster drills are held before ships leave port are a welcome sign that the cruise industry is serious about reviewing safety procedures following the Costa Concordia tragedy.

The changes, effective immediately, have been agreed by the US-based Cruise Lines International Association, the European Cruise Council and the UK's Passenger Shipping Association as part of an industry-wide operational safety review initiated in the wake of the accident that claimed at least 17 lives.

They beef up existing International Maritime Organisation (IMO) requirements that the muster drill be held within 24 hours of sailing. They also require passengers who embark too late for the muster drill to attend individual or group safety briefings before the ship sets sail.

Fifteen people are still missing after Costa Concordia capsized off the Italian island of Giglio on January 13, with more than 4,200 passengers and crew on board.

Many of the passengers had embarked in Civitavecchia, the port for Rome, just hours before the accident but had not had a safety briefing as their drill was due to take place next day in Savona, the ship's main embarkation port.

Deferring the drill in this way is a common occurrence - it has happened to me on a couple of occasions - and while it might not have been wise, it did not break IMO rules. It has taken this terrible tragedy to show how inadequate those rules were.

Attending a muster drill, when emergency and evacuation procedures are explained and passengers are shown how to put on a lifejacket, is not going to prevent an accident, but if the worst happens it does mean that everyone should know what to do.

Four days after the accident, Captain William Wright, Royal Caribbean International's Senior Vice-President of Marine Operations, told Telegraph Travel that cruise lines had to change their procedures immediately and ensure the safety drill was held before the ship set sail rather than wait "years" for new IMO legislation.

Those involved in the review will now continue to assess human and operational aspects of maritime safety and make recommendations to the industry and IMO.

Hopefully they can also find ways to make sure passengers take the safety drill seriously. At the end of January, a passenger on Holland America Line's Westerdam who refused to participate was made to disembark the ship. It was a draconian measure but a step in the right direction.

Source: The Telegraph