<p><strong>The cruise ship </strong><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.costacruise.com/usa/costa_concordia.html"><em>Costa Concordia</em></a><strong> lies partially sunk just a few hundred yards from the rocky coast of the </strong><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/italy-guide/?source=newstravel_travel">Italian</a><strong> island of Giglio on Monday. Though the fallout from the disaster remains unclear, past luxury liner accidents—the <em>Titanic</em> shipwreck being the most infamous—have sparked new measures for keeping passengers safe and dry.</strong></p><p>The <a href="http://www.costacruise.com/">Costa Cruises</a>-run ship's hull was ripped after the liner ran aground Friday. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16620807">Capt. Francesco Schettino</a> had steered the 126,000-ton vessel dangerously close to shore, purportedly to salute people on the island.</p><p>Eleven people are confirmed dead from the accident, and 23 people are still missing. Accused of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck, and abandoning ship, Schettino is now under house arrest.</p><p>Cruise historian <a href="http://books.wwnorton.com/books/Author.aspx?id=5942">John Maxtone-Graham</a> said the decision by the <em>Costa Concordia</em>'s captain to leave the sinking ship early was shameful.</p><p>"He wasn't the last man off," he said. "That is horrendous behavior. He's obviously a man of very lax principles and he'll never be on the bridge again."</p><p><em>—Ker Than</em></p>