Author Topic: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy  (Read 349225 times)

Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #300 on: July 06, 2012, 10:43:41 AM »
"Magistrates in the Tuscan town of Grosseto who are handling the case said Schettino would no longer have to remain confined to his home in Meta di Sorrento near Naples but would have to remain in the town.

He would also no longer be bound by the strict conditions of house arrest which prevented him from communicating with anyone apart from his lawyer and close family."

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/48079928/ns/travel-news/#.T_cEwJGwWGI


Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #301 on: July 06, 2012, 10:54:13 AM »
"Capt Francesco Schettino's extraordinary claim came as Italian judges released him from house arrest but said he must remain in his hometown of Meta di Sorrento, south of Naples, as he waits to go on trial on charges of manslaughter and abandoning ship.

He has been accused of gross negligence by sailing the 1,000ft luxury liner into a rocky reef off the Tuscan island of Giglio, ripping a massive gash in its hull.

But he claimed that rather than being responsible for the 32 dead, he had saved lives with his nautical skills and quick-thinking.

"If I had continued on that path the ship's prow would have hit the rock. It would have been carnage," he wrote in a letter to his lawyers.

"A divine hand surely touched my head. There are those who say the impact with the stern was caused because I was suffering from a hallucination.

What hallucination! It was rather my instinct, my skills, the ability to know the sea and suddenly change direction," he said.


To his critics, the extraordinary justification may fall into the same category as his now infamous claim that he did not deliberately flee the sinking ship, but "tripped and fell" into a lifeboat.

The lifeboat took him to the safety of shore even as hundreds of panic-stricken passengers and crew were trying to flee the listing ship in the darkness, inching their way down rope ladders and clambering into wobbling lifeboats.

"I created the most optimal conditions to save everybody, independently of how events were unfolding," he wrote.

It was "pure luck" that he had seen the white wash of breaking waves on the left side of the ship as it hit the rock, and had managed to immediately steer the vessel to the right "out of sheer instinct".

He defended himself from accusations that he delayed giving the order to abandon the ship for far too long.

"A ship is in fact the best lifeboat that exists. The captain needs to take his time to evaluate the emergency without creating panic. It is he alone who is responsible – first before God, and then before men." Francesco Verusio, the chief prosecutor in the case, said: "Schettino is playing his game, but it will be the judge to decide how things went that night."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9379731/Costa-Concordia-Capt-Francesco-Schettino-claims-divine-hand-guided-him.html


Offline RichC

  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 2093
    • View Profile
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #302 on: July 06, 2012, 12:13:48 PM »
I wonder if the Capt had an armed guard for security when he walks around town.

Offline NSWP

  • Captain
  • ****
  • Posts: 635
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #303 on: July 06, 2012, 09:16:21 PM »
Best Fairy Story I have heard in a while.  He should quit the cruise ships and write kiddies stories. ::) ;D

As for the 'Divine Hand' No comment, I am a Catholic too. :-[
CHEERS..Les from Batemans Bay, NSW, Australia

Princess Elite Cruiser, (480 days,) also cruised with Celebrity, P&O Australia and P&O UK, HAL, Carnival, Cunard and Sitmar. Plus Sydney Harbour Ferries !!

Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #304 on: July 18, 2012, 08:42:45 AM »
"In an interview this week, Captain Francesco Schettino admitted to being distracted on the phone when he navigated the ship off course, hitting the rocks near the Italian island of Giglio. Schettino could face manslaughter charges and was recently released from house arrest."

http://rockcenter.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/12/12701697-costa-concordia-survivors-describe-goliath-fight-against-cruise-industry?lite

« Last Edit: July 18, 2012, 08:54:50 AM by Host Mike »

Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #305 on: July 18, 2012, 08:48:03 AM »
"No alarm was sounded until more than an hour after they felt the ship shudder."

"When they heard six short whistles and a seventh long one, the signal to abandon ship and board life boats, the Lofaros said that it seemed the crew members didn’t know how to navigate the boats. They described the life boats bumping into one another like “bumper cars.”

http://rockcenter.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/12/12701697-costa-concordia-survivors-describe-goliath-fight-against-cruise-industry?lite

« Last Edit: July 18, 2012, 08:56:16 AM by Host Mike »

Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #306 on: July 18, 2012, 09:22:46 AM »
"The Aho family is being represented by Eaves and is battling Costa Cruises and Carnival.

“Some people just don’t want to have anything more to do with it and I completely understand that.  All the trauma, you just want to get past it and continue on,” Fleser said.  “We on the other hand, think that it’s important to try to change something.”

The family’s attorney recently took his fight to the seas. Eaves got the federal court in Texas to send U.S. Marshals to seize the Carnival Triumph which was about to sail from the port of Galveston. The federal court accepted a suit on behalf of the family of a woman killed on the Concordia, thus compelling Carnival to post a $10 million bond before the Triumph could sail.

“We asked the court to seize Carnival Triumph, a large passenger ship, and hold that ship as collateral for the judgment.  Just much like you do with a criminal, you know, you capture him.  Then he has to post a bond for him to go free, to make sure he'll return to court. We did the same thing with the ship,” Eaves said.  “They had to post a bond to make sure that, out of that bond, when we get a verdict, we get a judgment, that they'll pay this family and help them rebuild their lives.”

Of his fight against the cruise line industry, Eaves said, “Oh, it's Goliath, it's Goliath times two…I'm throwing my little slingshot, and I got one or two pebbles that I can throw.  I've done thrown a couple of them and I'm going to keep throwing until we find some way to make this better.”

http://rockcenter.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/12/12701697-costa-concordia-survivors-describe-goliath-fight-against-cruise-industry?lite


Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #307 on: July 18, 2012, 09:33:21 AM »
"Schettino believes that it may have been a mechanical failure that caused him to steer the ship too close to the shore and smash into the rocks.

“Something inside that compass went wrong,’’ he said. "

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/48194196/ns/today-today_news/t/costa-concordia-captain-i-am-clear-my-conscience/#.UAbGzZFnBfs


Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #308 on: July 18, 2012, 09:53:48 AM »
"Schettino also has been criticized for delaying the evacuation and not immediately conveying the seriousness of the situation. He did not sound the abandon ship alarm for nearly an hour after hitting the rocks and initially told authorities he thought the problem was just a power outage.

“My problem was to control the panic,’’ he said. “First of all, we were not really aware of the extent of the damage after hitting the rocks.’’

He also denied that he abandoned ship, saying the tilting of the vessel threw him into a lifeboat while he was helping people. Schettino added that he tried to persuade another boat to bring him back."


http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/48194196/ns/today-today_news/t/costa-concordia-captain-i-am-clear-my-conscience/#.UAbLOZFnBft


Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #309 on: July 18, 2012, 10:18:12 AM »
"But it’s Schettino’s actions after the collision that will be dissected in court. As the ship was sinking, the captain called his superiors in Genoa, Italy, more than a dozen times and asked for helicopters and a barge—all while lying to the Italian Coast Guard about the gravity of the incident. “It’s only a blackout” Schettino told the Coast Guard commander in a conversation that was taped and later broadcast. Meantime, worried passengers were flooding the emergency landlines, reporting that the ship was dark and listing; one passenger described how water was pouring down the stairs that led to the lower staterooms. The captain lost a valuable hour before finally pulling the “abandon ship” alarm. Meanwhile, his 1,000-strong crew was having to take charge with no authority to evacuate and little training. “The crew was given mixed messages. They knew the ship was sinking, but their captain had ultimate authority so they were caught,” says Franco Gabrielli, Italy’s civil-protection chief."

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/07/15/concordia-aftermath-what-to-know-before-boarding-a-cruise-ship.html



Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #310 on: July 18, 2012, 10:32:54 AM »
"Schettino on Tuesday appeared to want to lessen his role, insisting that another official, and not he, was at the helm of the ship at the moment it rammed the reef.

"At that moment, I went up to the bridge. I ordered the navigation to be manual, and I didn't have the command. The navigation was being directed by a (lower) official," Schettino said"


http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/concordia-captain-distraction-figured-crash-16750418#.UAbcapFnBfs



« Last Edit: July 18, 2012, 10:55:50 AM by Host Mike »

Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #311 on: July 18, 2012, 10:41:15 AM »
"Justifying his actions the other day, the captain of the Costa Concordia came up with a euphemism that is deserving of canonical status, by which I mean, it’s a belter. He said there had been “a breakdown in the interaction between human beings”.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/nigelfarndale/9399650/Costa-Concordias-captain-comes-up-with-a-belter-of-a-euphemism.html


Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #312 on: July 18, 2012, 10:52:40 AM »
"Evidence gathered from the black box data recorder of the Costa Concordia appears to contradict his insistence that he was not in charge of the ship when it smashed into the rocky outcrop off the Tuscan island of Giglio.

In his first media interview since the disaster, Francesco Schettino insisted on Tuesday that he was not in command of the cruise ship when it careered into the reef on Jan 13, tearing a huge gash in its hull and leading to the deaths of 32 people, including a five year old girl.

He had dinner with friends, including an ex-dancer from Moldova, then went up onto the bridge, he said.

But he maintained that he did not immediately take charge, telling an Italian television channel that at the time of the collision the 1,000ft ship was being steered by another officer.

“I went up to the bridge. I ordered the navigation to be manual, and I didn’t have the command. The navigation was being directed by another officer,” Mr Schettino said.

But data recovered from the black box by forensic investigators showed that the captain disabled the automatic pilot and took control of the ship at 9.39pm that night – six minutes before the collision at 9.45pm.

He allegedly veered off the ship’s previously agreed route, steering the Concordia perilously close to Giglio so that he could perform a “salute” or sail-past for the benefit of a former colleague, a retired sea captain who lived on the island.

Audio recordings from the black box, leaked to Corriere della Sera on Wednesday, revealed the panic and drama on the bridge as officers realised that the giant ship was ramming into the rocky reef, a few yards off Giglio’s coast.

“Our a— is dragging along the seabed!” an unidentified officer yelled. He then swore and gave the order for watertight doors in the stern to be immediately closed.

A few moments later Mr Schettino asked: “What did we hit?” to which an unidentified officer replied: “The reef.”

Another officer said: “It was the salute that he wanted,” an apparent reference to the sail-past that the captain had agreed to perform.


At 9.56pm Mr Schettino telephoned Roberto Ferrarini, an officer who was on duty in the emergency unit of Costa Cruises, the Genoa-based company that owns the Concordia.

“Roberto, I f—– up!” he said, according to the transcript. “Look, I’m dying here, don’t tell me anything.”

He tried to shift the blame onto the retired sea captain, Mario Palombo, saying that it was he who had encouraged him to sail so close to the island.

“It was Palombo who said to me ‘pass close by, pass close by’. I did pass close by and I hit shallow water with the stern. I did it to keep him happy. I’m really devastated.”

The ship began to list as it took on massive amounts of water but the captain still delayed giving the order to evacuate its 4,200 passengers and crew.

He finally gave the order to abandon ship at 10.51pm, by which time it was redundant – his officers had overridden him and already begun the evacuation.

The black box data, recovered by a special unit of the Carabinieri, will be presented to a judge at a hearing in Grosseto on the Italian mainland on July 21.

http://skift.com/2012/07/12/first-honest-words-concordia-captain-i-f-d-up/


Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #313 on: July 18, 2012, 11:04:04 AM »
"The husband of an Italian woman who died when the Costa Concordia cruise liner rammed a reef and capsized has left a memorial plaque on the sea bed near the reef.

Accompanied by Italian Coast Guard divers, Elio Vincenzi plunged into the pristine waters off Giglio island in scuba diving gear Saturday to place the plaque 25 meters (82 feet) deep. A cross and photos of Maria Grazia Trecarichi, whose body has never been found, decorate the plaque.

Vincenzi told Sky TG24 TV that during the dive he experienced overwhelming emotion, which he'll remember for as long as he lives."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2018684983_apeuitalyshipaground.html


Offline Host Mike

  • Administrator
  • Commodore
  • *****
  • Posts: 9775
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Princess Only
Re: Carnival owned cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground off Italy
« Reply #314 on: July 22, 2012, 09:12:58 PM »
GROSSETO, Italy — An Italian court on Saturday postponed until Oct. 15 a preliminary hearing seeking to determine charges against those responsible for the Costa Concordia shipwreck that killed 32 crew and passengers.

The court decided to delay the hearing, which will decide whether to indict Concordia's captain and others, in order to examine an expert assessment of audio evidence from the black box data recorder.

Capt. Francesco Schettino's lawyer told reporters outside the courthouse that the audio evidence from the black box confirms his client's version of events.

"Schettino has felt relieved since he had the chance to tell his version of the facts to the judge, but he is also relieved because the audio evidence from the black box confirm his version," Bruno Leporatti said.

Schettino said recently in a TV interview that he was distracted by a telephone call just before the Jan. 13 accident, and that he believed his decision to move the ship closer to shore to shallow waters instead of immediately ordering an evacuation potentially saved lives. Prosecutors allege he sailed too close to an island in a publicity stunt, ramming it into a reef.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/21/costa-concordia-hearing-delayed_n_1691614.html

« Last Edit: July 22, 2012, 09:18:24 PM by Host Mike »