You aren't the only one with questions...
From
Live Yachting "QUESTIONS about the sinking of the Concordia, the floating classroom tallship that sank in waters off Brazil this week – but with all 64 on board rescued safely – will go on for a long time... There will be questions about the microburst explanation by the Captain, questions about why the rescue was so delayed, and questions about the safety gear and processes aboard the sailing vessel."
The CBC (Canadian) News says the Canadian Transportation Safety Board will be conducting its own investigation, also.
The school that owned the ship said that the ship flipped over on Feb. 17 at 10 a.m. (ET), the ship was abandoned by 10:20 and sank immediately afterward, and the EPIRB activated immediately.
However, the Brazilian Navy said they didn't receive the signal until Feb. 18 at 2 a.m., 16 hours later, and "immediately tried to contact the ship by radio". West Island College International in Nova Scotia received notice of the sinking from Brazilian authorities on Feb. 18 at 6 a.m.
Despite getting the distress signal at 2 a.m., the Brazilian military plane didn't find the life rafts until the evening of Feb. 18, and their ship didn't arrive for another two hours, by which time the survivors had already been picked up by the two merchant ships, the Philippine-flagged Hokuetsu Delight and the Crystal Pioneer.
Sinking and rescue timeline Yes, there are a lot of questions to be answered!
And kudos to the Hokeutsu Delight and Crystal Pioneer, whose masters didn't just keep going on their own route because they were afraid of pirates, as so many have done.
Sue