Captain said 'it's just a blackout'
A new audiotape has emerged of the captain of the stricken cruise ship Costa Concordia insisting that the vessel only had a blackout a full 30 minutes after it had rammed into a reef.
The tape is of the first contact between Livorno port officials and Capt Francesco Schettino.
The captain, who left the ship before everyone was safely evacuated, is under house arrest, facing possible charges of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning his ship.
The Costa Concordia was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew when it slammed into well-charted rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio after Schettino made an unauthorised diversion Friday.
The ship then keeled over on its side.
Eleven people have been confirmed dead and 21 others are still missing.
The recording between Schettino and port officials began at 10:12 pm on Friday, a good 30 minutes after the ship violently hit a reef and panicked passengers had fled the dining room to get their lifejackets.
Recordings of Schettino's conversations with coast guard officials after the ship capsized on its side have shown how he resisted repeated orders to return on board to oversee the evacuation.
In today's newly released recording, the first communication between the ship and Livorno port authorities, Schettino is heard assuring the officer that he was checking out the reasons for the blackout. But he does not say that the ship had hit a reef.
Rather, the port officer tells Schettino that his agency had heard from a relative of one of the ship's sailors that "during dinner everything fell on their heads".
Passengers in the dining area reported plates and glasses slamming down onto diners.
"We are verifying the conditions on board," Schettino replies. Asked if passengers had been told to put on life jackets, he responds: "Correct."
Crew members and passengers alike have complained about the chaotic evacuation and the lack of direction from the ship's management.
Divers, meanwhile, restarted the search today for those still missing, but a forecast of rough seas added uncertainty to the operation and to plans to begin pumping fuel from the stranded vessel.
The divers were focusing on an evacuation route on the fourth level, now about 18 meters (60 ft) below the water's surface, where five bodies were found earlier this week.
Crews set off small explosions to blow holes into hard-to-reach areas for easier access by divers.
Officials restarted the search after determining the ship had stabilised after shifting on the rocks 24 hours earlier.
Also today, seven of the dead were identified by authorities: French passengers Jeanne Gannard, Pierre Gregoire, Francis Servil, 71, and Jean-Pierre Micheaud, 61; Peruvian crew member Thomas Alberto Costilla Mendoza; Spanish passenger Guillermo Gual, 68, and Italian passenger Giovanni Masia, who news reports said would have turned 86 next week and was buried in Sardinia today.
Italian authorities have identified 32 people who have either died or are missing: 12 Germans, seven Italians, six French, two Peruvians, two Americans and one person each from Hungary, India and Spain.
The ship's sudden movement on Wednesday had also postponed the start of the operation to extract the half-million gallons of fuel on board.
Italy's environment minister issued a fresh warning today about the implications if the ship shifts and breaks any of its now-intact oil tanks.
"We are very concerned" about the weather, said minister Corrado Clini. "If the tanks were to break, the fuel would block the sunlight from getting to the bottom of the sea, making a kind of film, and that would cause the death of the marine system in the area."
Crew members returning home have begun speaking out about the chaotic evacuation, saying the captain sounded the alarm too late and did not give orders or instructions about how to evacuate passengers. Eventually, crew members started lowering lifeboats on their own.
"They asked us to make announcements to say that it was electrical problems and that our technicians were working on it and to not panic," said French steward Thibault Francois. "I told myself this doesn't sound good."
He said the captain took too long to react and that eventually his boss told him to start escorting passengers to lifeboats. "No, there were no orders from the management," he said.
Among the missing are an Italian father and five-year-old daughter. The girl's mother issued a fresh appeal to speed the search and for passengers who saw the pair to come forward to help determine where they were last seen.
"Don't stop, bring home my daughter. Get her out," Susy Albertini, 28, said evening after meeting with government and port officials in Tuscany.
William Arlotti, 36, had taken his daughter on the cruise with his girlfriend, Michela Marconcelli, who survived. Marconcelli said she got separated from the other two in the evacuation.
The ship's operator, Crociere Costa SpA, has accused Schettino of causing the wreck by making the unapproved detour, and the captain has acknowledged carrying out what he called a "tourist navigation" that brought the ship closer to Giglio.
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carmel muscat
Jan 19th, 21:05
PH3 Hours Ago
In March, 2008, we were on board the Concordia heading into Alexandria, Egypt. Clear, early morning, miles of visibility. The ship makes a violent turn to port and begins listing over. We are looking out our balcony windows, straight down at the water. I went out onto the balcony and took a picture of a huge container ship alongside us. Apparently the two ships were playing a game of "chicken" to see who would turn first.
I can now better understand how this thing happened. Captain Schettino, who was in command, was probably on the bridge at the time.
carmel muscat
Jan 19th, 20:58
Schettino, 52, was born in the Mafia enclave of Castellammare di Stabia, south of Naples. His parents were sailors and he followed the same course as many of his contemporaries, attending the nearby naval academy in Piano di Sorrento and eventually finding work on a tourist boat. After putting in his time cruising super-yachts around the Mediterranean Sea, he landed a job at Costa Crociere as head of security in 2002 and then was promoted to captain four years later. In his five years at the helm of the Costa Concordia, he earned a reputation not only for his womanizing, but also for his insubordination. Just a month earlier, he allegedly left the port of Marseilles in 60 knot winds against the port authority’s orders
carmel muscat
Jan 19th, 20:57
But it wasn’t Schettino’s navigational skills that got him into the trouble he’s in today but his deplorable actions after the Concordia hit an outcropping of rocks. He admits to the fatal error, saying he misjudged the distance when he diverted the massive cruiser more than two miles from her authorized route to do a “flyby” near the island of Giglio, where retired captain Mario Palombo was expecting a flash of light and a sounding of the Concordia’s horn. All across the island, residents describe these maritime greetings as a normal practice. Indeed, they take place from Sorrento to Venice with disturbing frequency.
carmel muscat
Jan 19th, 20:55
Francesco Schettino, the Costa Concordia’s Daredevil Captain
by Barbie Latza Nadeau Jan 18, 2012 6:50 PM EST
As the Costa Concordia sinks deeper into the Mediterranean, the controversy swirling around Capt. Francesco Schettino is heating up. Barbie Latza Nadeau on the perma-tanned womanizer—and the charges he faces.
carmel muscat
Jan 19th, 20:52
Bruno Leporatti, the lawyer of Captain Francesco Schettino, meets the media in Grosseto, while, right, a man wears one of the fastest-selling T-shirts in the country which reads 'Get back on board, damn it' in mockery of the man who abandoned his ship before the women and passengers
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2087704/Costa-Concordia-Captain-Francesco-Schettino-I-left-I-FELL-lifeboat.html#ixzz1jw4TAmlK
Joe Xuereb
Jan 19th, 19:08
@Luke Borg(@17:56). In such situations, I imagine that priority should be given to children, young teenagers and women with child (how quaint!). The rest, including women heavy with jewellery, can fend for themselves as best they can. Maybe Mr. Borg sits uncomfortably with the notion that a woman can fend for herself? Why else do you thing so many men refer to women as girls, Mr. Borg? Or worse still, as ladies? .
Luke, many women are indeed more fragile than most men. I say most men because many men are fragile too. I imagine you are not one of them.
I stand to be corrected, I hope, but when news of this catastrophe was initially reported, I seem to recollect that some Maltese entity/report/news item intimated that this tragedy would somehow be good for cruise ships coming to Malta. Please god, tell me I'm wrong. Tell me I was dreaming.
angelo cilia
Jan 19th, 18:49
The Costa Concordia is a bad omen of the future of the European Union collapse set to happen this year, 13 of her decks are named after european nations. Wonder why greasy Captain Schettino fled? if we are correct in assuming the ship was 'sacrificed' for the harlot riding the red beast, he may well have anticipated martyrdom.
Captain Dago Schettino is being pilloried by the corporate press. Even within their coverage you can see how the story is twisted. They are reporting that he made an unscheduled turn in an attempt to sail close to Isola del Giglio to impress a former captain who it turns out wasn't even there anyway. In the text they imply the ship was holed at her resting place. At that point we have an explosion, a power failure and a loss of control. I suspect the Captain fully realized his ship was sinking and did what sailors have done since sail - beach her. The Costa Concordia may have just been damged by the explosion and lost power immediately prior to the contact with the reef. So the captain has two choices. He can return to port or turn towards Isola del Giglio. It is obvious what should be done. Isola del Giglio is significantly closer and doesn't require a potentially dangerous turn.
Vincent Galea
Jan 19th, 18:34
We live in an age that worships every new scientific breakthrough. We are obsessed with gadgets that can make our lives easier.
With all of these scientific progress how can a ship sill go aground ?
laurent caruana
Jan 19th, 18:08
Captain Chicken..........surname.....Coward
Mon Swinger
Jan 19th, 18:53
It is highly unethical and even backward to post such comments when an investigation is still ongoing and the results still a long way ahead. To further your knowledge regarding such technical matters and collective responsibilities I urge you to read the following link:
http://www.lloydslist.com/ll/sector/ship-operations/article389069.ece
Monique
S.M. Cuschieri
Jan 20th, 19:43
@Mon Swinger
He is Italian................................
Alison Bezzina
Jan 19th, 17:46
Why should women be evacuated before men in such situations ?
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120119/blogs/coraggio-fuggiamo.403049
Luke Borg
Jan 19th, 17:56
I think because women are less 'strong' than men. Thus in these situations men are more likely to survive than women.
Marija A. K. Calafato
Jan 21st, 15:57
Because women are more important than men!
V. Cauchi
Jan 19th, 17:34
I just got to know how to say "inchino" in English - it's a sail-past, bow or curtsey.
An interesting article on "Italy's recurring tragedy - the quest for Bella Figura" has been reported in toto as appearing in English in the Financial Times, in Corriere della Sera.
http://www.corriere.it/cronache/12_gennaio_19/concordia-severgnini-su-financial-times_e3470532-42a0-11e1-8207-8bde7a1445db.shtml
Victor Zammit
Jan 19th, 18:21
I commented in November last about this tendency for articles in English in the Corriere della Sera. My comment was with reference to some commentors here taking to task others for writing their comments in Maltese.
http://www.corriere.it/editoriali/11_novembre_14/severgnini-italians-want-comeback-not-decline_cf3ea9ce-0e9c-11e1-98bb-351bac11bfea.shtml
carmel muscat
Jan 19th, 17:15
Francesco Schettino fits a stereotype that makes most Italians cringe. In photos circulating around the Internet, the Costa Concordia captain’s shirt seems permanently unbuttoned to reveal a tuft of what looks like groomed chest hair. His skin is deeply tanned, a la Silvio Berlusconi, and his long curly mane is slicked back in a mullet that is meant to look suave. He has a reputation as an egomaniac who doesn’t budge from his beliefs. And he is a daredevil who likes to take risks. “He drives a ship like a Ferrari,” Martino Pellegrino, a crew member, told reporters near the crash site. “He was reckless.”
V. Cauchi
Jan 19th, 18:40
I have often watched these big ships leave Grand harbour and was amazed at the speed and confidence they sailed from the area opposite the War Memorial to the breakwater out to sea. In such a restricted space near the breakwater and at some 5 knots I wondered what the result would be had they to veer suddenly or stop altogether. I think there are more confident captains than Schettino who steer their ships like a Ferrari.
carmel muscat
Jan 19th, 17:13
"Get on board the ship and you tell me how many people are on board. You tell me if there are children, women, people with special needs. And you tell me how many there are. Look, Schettino, you might have been saved from the sea, but I will make your life difficult. Get on board, damn it!"
carmel muscat
Jan 19th, 17:09
Port Authority Begged Costa Concordia Captain to Return to Ship
by Barbie Latza Nadeau Jan 17, 2012 1:43 PM EST
Tape recordings show that Francesco Schettino left the Costa Concordia before all the passengers were off and then pleaded with the port authority not to send him back on the ship.
A. Xuereb
Jan 19th, 17:09
Crew members returning home have begun speaking out about the chaotic evacuation, saying the captain sounded the alarm too late and did not give orders or instructions about how to evacuate passengers...One would presume that evacuation exercises are a normal routine on such cruise liners, and that all members of crew would know exactly what to do in case of emergency.
Mark Cams
Jan 19th, 17:07
COSTA must shoulder some responsibilities. At the end of teh day the captian is one of their employees. They seem trying to distance themselves from the Captain.
Especially if the information given is correct that he was Head of Security and was made a Captain after 4 years and passing exams.
I always thought a captain of such a large ship witjh so many lives on board would have many years of real and actual experience before he is even considered to become a Captain..
Costa said he was made Captain within the parameters of the relevant law but I still find it 'unreasonable'. I do not know if this is common amongst teh other cruise companies.