Princess Chatter

"GIGLIO, Italy -- Tossing bouquets of red roses into the sea, the relatives of people still missing one month after the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster mourned in a private tribute Monday.

The family members boarded a small boat that took them 50 meters (yards) from the stricken cruise ship, which struck a reef Jan. 13 off the Tuscan coast when its captain made an unauthorized maneuver. Seventeen people died while trying to flee and 15 remain missing and are presumed dead.

The search for the missing was called off after authorities determined it was too risky for the rescue divers.

Among family members at the scene of the tragedy was Susy Albertini, the mother of 5-year-old Dayana Arlotti, who was traveling with her father William, who is also missing. Kevin Rebello, the brother of a missing waiter from India, also attended, as did the families of missing French and German passengers.

The relatives hugged each other as the roses floated on the Mediterranean. Rebello said Monday's anniversary was the hardest day yet since the shipwreck.

"I haven't lost hope yet, anything can still happen, a miracle. He may be injured, he may have lost consciousness, anything may have happened. I still have hope, I always have hope, hope is the last thing to die," Rebello said. "I hope I will find him as soon as possible, to bring him home."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/14/costa-concordia-disaster-_n_1275654.html

"Italian officials say rough seas have increased movements of the crippled Costa Concordia and are thwarting the start of fuel removal a month after the cruise ship capsized off a Tuscan island.

The national office overseeing search and anti-pollution operations said Friday that instruments registered increased and faster movements of the ship, which is resting on its side just outside Giglio island's port. But they said the movements have since slowed down. If the ship keeps shifting, it could drop down onto deeper seabed, complicating plans to remove fuel."

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501843_162-57375619/italy-wrecked-cruise-ship-moves-in-rough-seas/

"In my opinion, the captain is the only one responsible for this disaster," said Carlos Garrone, an engineer who lives in Valencia, Spain. "The decision-making responsibility lies with the captain. It's all up to him."

Schettino himself insisted that he had tried unsuccessfully to return to the ship after falling on to the roof of a lifeboat, but he admitted that he had been devastated by the disaster.

"Everyone had life vests on, but for me...well my life at that moment had been destroyed, I wasn't interested in life vests ... it was over for me," he said."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/02/09/us-italy-ship-schettino-idUSTRE81825Z20120209

3D animation at this story link:

http://www.smh.com.au/world/cruise-captain-dined-with-dancer-20120208-1rcis.html

and here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhwW6FlL9ow

"Italian divers risked life and limb to rescue a teddy bear that a child had left behind on the Costa Concordia during the chaotic evacuation of the cruise ship last month.

The child's father told rescuers that the little boy had been unable to sleep since the disaster and desperately missed his toy.

He wrote to islanders who had given shelter to him and his son after they were brought ashore when the 950ft long vessel ran aground on the Italian island of Giglio on the night of Jan 13.

Islanders passed the letter to the island's mayor, Sergio Ortelli, who in turn gave it to rescue divers, who entered the hull on a special mission, finding the cabin where the boy had been staying and retrieving the soft toy – bedraggled but intact.

They found the bear hidden in a tangle of debris – overturned tables, chairs, mattresses and scattered luggage."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9072265/Costa-Concordia-divers-launch-rescue-mission-for-boys-teddy-bear.html

"More than a dozen of ancient ships, ranging from the‭ ‬oldest deep-water wreck in history to late Roman imperial vessels, rest in Giglio's treacherous waters."

http://news.discovery.com/history/concordia-reef-120207.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2097999/Costa-Concordia-captain-pictured-sharing-oysters-Domnica-Cemortan-month-liner-crash.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

"In photos to be published today, Captain Francesco Schettino is seen with Domnica Cemortan, 25, enjoying a seafood meal in Villefranche-sur-Mer on the Cote d'Azur.

The couple were photographed in the restaurant on December 13, according to Chi, an Italian weekly magazine."

http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/the-trials-of-domnica-and-the-captain-making-a-meal-of--in-love-claim-20120208-1rckr.html

""An Italian court refused Tuesday to lift an order of house arrest for Francesco Schettino, the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship that ran aground off a Tuscan island last month.

The court in Florence rejected two requests: one from prosecutors to jail Schettino and another from Schettino to be freed."

http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/story/2012-02-07/Costa-Concordia-captain-remains-under-house-arrest/53000450/1