Costa Concordia captain blames helmsman for crash
Source: The BBC
The captain of the Costa Concordia has blamed his Indonesian helmsman for the accident which caused the ship to sink off the coast of Italy last year.
Francesco Schettino told a court the helmsman failed to obey orders to slow down and steered the ship onto rocks.
Thirty-two people died when the cruise ship capsized in January 2012.
Mr Schettino is charged with manslaughter, causing the shipwreck and abandoning ship, but says he is being made a scapegoat for others' errors.
Last week the 290m-long vessel was raised upright in a major salvage operation off the coast of Giglio island.
The captain said there would have been no crash if the helmsman, who has already been convicted in a separate manslaughter trial, had heeded an order to steer away from rocks.
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Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24210522
What an asshole! How about taking the blame for your own recklessness, you Cazzo!
MicaelS
(8,747 posts)If he hadn't been doing that "salute" crap the accident wouldn't have happened.
Turbineguy
(37,212 posts)Nice try though! Actually if the vessel had turned the other way it would have hit the rock head-on and it would have ended better. Ships are designed to hit things head-on.
AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)Well, not better for everyone in the first two compartments I guess...
No Vested Interest
(5,157 posts)The buck stops here! - That's at the top.
What a coward.
Fortinbras Armstrong
(4,473 posts)The captain may be off the bridge, the captain may be asleep. It makes no difference, the captain is responsible.
cloudbase
(5,487 posts)Greg Cousins was the mate on watch, and his AB also had a license. The AB actually told Cousins he was on the wrong side of the navigation light.
Hazelwood will never command another vessel, while Cousins continues to sail as a mate.
TheCowsCameHome
(40,163 posts)Actually, that may not be far from the truth, considering he abandoned his vessel.
Festivito
(13,452 posts)I can barely correct an errant vowel in a post I've made and finish the edit in 1 minute.
These guys read a post, coolly agree without the adrenalin of disagreement and manage a two sentence response in a minute.
As to the OP. I would not want to railroad the captain if it was not his fault.
Kelvin Mace
(17,469 posts)starting with the publicly released recording of his conversations with the Coast Guard:
De Falco: Schettino, listen to me. There are people trapped aboard, now you go back, you will go with your rescue boat under the stern of the ship, there are some steps, you climb those steps and you get onboard and you get back to me letting me know how many people are on board. Is that clear to you? I am actually recording this conversation captain.
De Falco: Speak in a louder voice.
Schettino: So, the ship right now [inaudible]
De Falco: Speak in a loud voice! Put your hand by the microphone to cover it and speak up! Is that clear?
Schettino: So, right now the ship is tilted
De Falco: I understand that. Listen to me, there are people that are getting off using the rope ladder on the stern side, you go back there and you go up that ladder the opposite way, you go onboard the ship and you tell me how many people [are there] And what they need. You tell me if there are children, women or people that need assistance and you give me a number for each one of these categories is that clear? Look Schettino, you may have saved yourself from the sea but will put you through a lot of trouble it will be very bad for you! Get back on board for [expletive]s sake!!!
Schettino: Officer, please.
De Falco: There are no pleases! Get back on board! Please assure me that you are going back on board.
Schettino: I am here on the rescue boat. Im right here, I didnt go anywhere else, Im here.
De Falco: What are you doing captain?
Schettino: Im here to coordinate rescue operations.
De Falco: What are you coordinating? Get back on board and coordinate rescue operations from onboard the ship.
Schettino: [inaudible]
De Falco: Do you refuse to do that?
Schettino: No, Im not refusing to do that.
De Falco: What? Are you refusing to back on board?
Schettino: No, I am not refusing to go back. I am not going because the other rescue boat stopped.
De Falco: Get back on board! This is an order! You dont need to make any other assessment. You have declared that you have abandoned ship, therefore Im in command. Get back on board right now is that clear?
Schettino: Officer
De Falco: Can you hear me?
Schettino: Yes, I am getting back on board.
De Falco: Then go! And call me right away when you are on board. Theres my rescuer there.
Schettino: Where is your rescuer?
De Falco: My rescuer is on the stern side, go! There are already bodies, Schettino! Go!
Schettino: Officer how many bodies are there?
De Falco: I dont know. I know about one. I have heard about one, but you must tell me [expletive]!
Schettino: Do you realize its dark out here and we cant see anything?
De Falco: What do you want to do ? Do you want to go home? Its dark so you want to go home? Get on the stern of that ship climb the ladder and tell me what can be done, how many people are there and what they need. Right now!
Schettino: Im here with my second officer.
De Falco: You and your second officer must get back on board right now is that clear?
Schettino: I just wanted to tell you that the other rescue boat here with other rescuers stopped. Its just stopped. Now Ive called the other rescuers.
De Falco: Youve been telling me the same thing for an hour now get back on board! On board! And you get back to me right away telling me how many people are there.
Schettino: Its fine officer, Im going.
De Falco: Then go. Right now!
Schettino: I have spoken to the company and there seem to be some people still onboard, possibly about one hundred.
De Falco: And you cant even give me a precise number? You say, There seem to be?
Schettino: Well, we were carrying out evacuation procedures, but now all the officers have gathered on the rescue boat with me.
De Falco: Where are you guys? All on the rescue boat? Excuse me, earlier you told me you where with one colleague only now all the officers are there?
Schettino: Yes, theres me, my second officer, and
De Falco: If the officers were able to get down there, it means they were still able to move
Schettino: Indeed, now.
De Falco: Then why are they not going back on board to see what the situation is like and then tell us about it, thank you? Send them on board! Send someone on board to coordinate!
Schettino: Now its not
De Falco: Send someone back on board!
Schettino: I am try to coordinate that.
De Falco: I am giving you an order. You must send someone onboard now!
Schettino: We are going on board to coordinate ourselves
De Falco: Exactly! You must go onboard to coordinate the disembarking! Is that clear?
Schettino: We can no longer get on board now, the ship has sunk completely.
De Falco: Why did you allow them to get off, captain?
Schettino: I didnt. We just abandoned ship.
De Falco: With 100 people still on board you abandon ship? [expletive]
Schettino: I didnt abandon any ship
because the ship turned on its side quickly and we were catapulted into the water.
De Falco: Well clarify later what actually happened
for now tell me everything that goes on, everything! Place yourself under the ship with your rescue boat and dont leave.
Schettino: Were here. Were here.
Posteritatis
(18,807 posts)He's one hundred percent responsible for the navigation, safety and other behaviours of his ship when it's at sea, and the vast majority of legal traditions do not provide any wiggle room for that. If he was asleep in his bunk, off watch, when another crewmember deliberately rammed the ship into the coastline, he would still be legally responsible. The situation as it turned out was vastly less ambiguous than that.
The vast majority of sea captains know that they don't get to pass the buck, much less leave the ship during an ongoing disaster. It's been absolutely straightforward since the thing first ran aground that the captain screwed up and then decided it was a good idea to continue screwing up.
Cooley Hurd
(26,877 posts)cbayer
(146,218 posts)The captain is always ultimately responsible. Blaming anyone else is just shirking his responsibility, which he has done from the beginning.
He showed himself to be a coward and incompetent from the moment this happened.
1000words
(7,051 posts)progree
(10,864 posts)everything that went wrong to be his/her fault, even if it means lying under oath. Maritime trials are not meant to find out what really happened so that lessons can be learned and improvements can be made in procedures, equipment, training, etc. That is just way too tiresome and way too much work.
Wow, 5 people accept plea bargains, including the helmsman, but but but, I thought according to maritime law and tradition, only the captain can possibly be guilty?