A sail-by salute (or near-shore salute) is a salute performed by bringing a ship close to shore to salute those on land. Often the salute is performed for a crewmember's family.
The practice dates back to ancient times. In Italy, massive ships regularly came very close to shorelines or
jetties
A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...
in the Mediterranean, including the island of
Procida
Procida (; nap, Proceta ) is one of the Flegrean Islands off the coast of Naples in southern Italy. The island is between Cape Miseno and the island of Ischia. With its tiny satellite island of Vivara, it is a ''comune'' of the Metropolitan Ci ...
, off the
Amalfi
Amalfi (, , ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 metres, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramatic c ...
coast, and
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
.
Some US-based cruise lines have been reluctant to answer questions pertaining to the extent to which salutes are performed today. Passenger ship historian and writer Peter Knego says that salutes are still performed whether approved by cruise companies or not.
History
Sail-by salutes both near land and between two ships at sea are a time-held tradition going back to the days of the ancient mariner and that in particular Italian and Greek seafarers have long been known for sail-by salutes.
[Gene Sloan.]
Cruise lines won't say whether they allow 'sail-by' salutes
, ''USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...
'', 25 January 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
Costa Concordia disaster
The custom of sail-by salutes was brought to mainstream focus following the 2012
Costa Concordia disaster
On 13 January 2012, the eight-year-old Costa Cruises vessel '' Costa Concordia'' was on the last leg of a cruise around the Mediterranean Sea when she deviated from her planned route at Isola del Giglio, Tuscany, sailed closer to the island, ...
in which the Italian cruise ship ''
Costa Concordia
''Costa Concordia'' () was a cruise ship operated by Costa Crociere. She was the first of her class, followed by sister ships '' Costa Serena'', '' Costa Pacifica'', '' Costa Favolosa'' and ''Costa Fascinosa'', and '' Carnival Splendor'' built ...
'' hit an underwater rock near
Isola del Giglio
Isola del Giglio (; en, Giglio Island, lat, Igilium) is an Italian island and comune in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the coast of Tuscany, and is part of the Province of Grosseto. The island is one of seven that form the Tuscan Archipelago, lying w ...
, Italy.
In the case of the Costa Concordia disaster, there is controversy about whether the captain's on-shore superiors had ordered such a salute or had anything to do with it at all. Costa Cruises chief executive Pier Luigi Foschi told a newspaper that the owners of the ship were not aware of "unsafe practices involving ships coming close to shore to give tourists a better view"
Costa Concordia owners deny knowing about captain's near-shore salutes
By James Mackenzie, Reuters / 20 January 2012 but also acknowledged and defended the practice in a testimony before an Italian parliamentary committee where he said that sail-by salutes do happen with cruise line approval, calling them "tourist navigations" whereby cruise ships steer close to shore to give passengers a look at the sights, something Foschi said "enriches the cruise product". He also said that "There are many components of the cruise product, and we have to do them like everyone else because we are in a global competition."[Philip Pullella.]
Italians want ban on liners too close to shore, Venice
, Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was est ...
, 20 January 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2012. Determining to what degree sail-by salutes are condoned by cruise companies may prove crucial in resolving who was responsible for the accident.
See also
* SOLAS Convention
The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is an international maritime treaty that sets minimum safety standards in the construction, equipment and operation of merchant ships. The International Maritime Organization ...
* Ship's Salute
References
{{reflist
External links
Costa Concordia and the practice of near-shore salute
Cruise lines
Naval ceremonies
Salutes