Costa Concordia captain fights firing in court

Posted on 31 January 2013

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A court is deciding whether to indict a cruise ship captain on a manslaughter charge after an accident left 32 dead — during which the captain allegedly steered the ship off course to perform a “stunt” and was flirting with women in the moments leading up to the crash.

Meanwhile, Francesco Schettino, the captain of the capsized Costa Concordia cruise ship, made his return to court this week to contest being fired from Costa Crociere SpA, the cruise ship company he worked for when the accident occurred, according to The Maritime Executive.

A closed-door hearing was held Wednesday in Torre Annunziata, near Naples, Italy. A separate court is deciding whether to indict Schettino on manslaughter and other charges.

The nearly 1,000-foot cruise liner capsized Jan. 13, 2012, off the Tuscan island of Giglio after it struck rocks. Officials have placed blame on Schettino for the accident; investigators allege that he took the luxury liner off its course in a “stunt,” the publication reported.

Survivors and observers have separately accused Schettino of flirting with women in the moments before the crash and said he was distracted from his duties.

However, the captain insists that he will command another vessel at some point. He also stated on numerous occasions that his steering abilities helped to save many people on that fateful night. In his defense, he noted that the reef responsible for taking the Concordia down was not visible on his navigation charts.

Click here for the full report.

Comments

5 Friday, 01 February 2013 14:19

By vissionquest

When I take out a 17' work boat, I take more responsibility than this guy does, and my crew is better prepared. He is an insult to the title CAPTAIN.

4 Friday, 01 February 2013 05:53

By Tracey

He will never captain another ship if i have anything to do with it... EVER... i was one of the survivors, but only just!

His actions to reef the cruiseliner and lower the anchor (which never anchored properly) concluded by an Italian court to further tilt the concordia. I cant wait till he has his day in court.

The truth shall be known ~

3 Thursday, 31 January 2013 21:18

By DSW

Cocky,egomaniac,they should press manslaughter charges on him,he shouldn't have taken it off course,he probably wouldn't have hit that reef in the first place.,the officer in charge in the bridge didn't pay attention either monitoring the depth and sonars.

2 Thursday, 31 January 2013 17:42

By bpante

I din't know about piloting another ship, but Spirit Airlines will take him.

1 Thursday, 31 January 2013 17:08

By JJB

What an ego. At least his behavior is consistent.

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