Costa Concordia SINKING

[TheBestIsYetToCome]

I think you are missing the point...I'm not sure it was so much as panic...I would bet my house that he is arrogant, and delayed the mayday call not due to panic but because he thought he could correct the situation without any assistance.

 

I'm sure he also delayed the call to cover his tracks a bit, to formulate a plan or story, he needed to buy himself time to get away from the rocks he hit in an effort to hide/obscure exactly what happened.

 

He was in full on CYA mode.

 

Panic and arrogance aren't mutually exclusive. There is some reason that will eventually come out that explains a pattern of erratic behavior throughout the night....delaying acknowledging the emergency, leaving the scene, refusing to return, multiple lies. It's more than just bravado, there is something else.

[guernseyguy]

He was in full on CYA mode.

 

If his reported comment when he finally got off the phone from Costa Marine Operations is correct "My career is finished, I'm fired!" then I think it's pretty clear where his priorities lay.....

[JJSMaine]

WHAT could possibly explain the level of panic this captain displayed throughout the emergency???

 

Incompetence, arrogance, panic, fear... The captain seems to have been in a position that was way way over his head... he passed his level of competency and no one noticed.....

 

We have clear reports from passengers that lifeboat operators were begging to be allowed to drop the lifeboats but were refused permission.

 

We know for a fact that there was a huge delay between the initial incident and the eventual release of the lifeboats.

 

The panic on board was caused directly by the false and misleading information being announced by the bridge. People are not totally stupid, they know when something is wrong and they are being lied to. The passengers knew that something other than an electrical problem was going on and the lies compounded an already dangerous situation.

 

 

Granted this will all be detailed eventually, but the PR machines will be working hard to cast doubt and try their best to cover up the horrendous nature of this incident. They may even be in here.... defending the industry.. so Agreed that there is innocent until proven guilty, but evidence is evidence and facts are facts... there is no defending the captain or the cruise line at this stage... there is just too much damning evidence....

[bobsig]

It's more than just bravado, there is something else.

Drunk?

[Clar5]

Incompetence, arrogance, panic, fear... The captain seems to have been in a position that was way way over his head... he passed his level of competency and no one noticed.....

 

We have clear reports from passengers that lifeboat operators were begging to be allowed to drop the lifeboats but were refused permission.

 

We know for a fact that there was a huge delay between the initial incident and the eventual release of the lifeboats.

 

The panic on board was caused directly by the false and misleading information being announced by the bridge. People are not totally stupid, they know when something is wrong and they are being lied to. The passengers knew that something other than an electrical problem was going on and the lies compounded an already dangerous situation.

 

 

Granted this will all be detailed eventually, but the PR machines will be working hard to cast doubt and try their best to cover up the horrendous nature of this incident. They may even be in here.... defending the industry.. so Agreed that there is innocent until proven guilty, but evidence is evidence and facts are facts... there is no defending the captain or the cruise line at this stage... there is just too much damning evidence....

 

We even have a video from a crew member (waiter) showing the crew blocking the way to the lifeboats until the abandon ship order was given and the immediate chaos in the dining room.

[Feelin' Nauti']

Rock in hull

 

[astrocruises]

From Sky News:

 

The bodies of four men and one woman in their 50s and 60s, all wearing lifejackets, were found together below the waterline at the front of the ship. Filippo Marini, a coast guard spokesman, said: "The bodies were found close to where the bodies of two other victims were discovered. They were in a submerged section of the ship at the back."

 

Earlier reports about the previous two bodies described the area as the muster station in the restaurant. Other events might be written off as as the result of stupidity and/or arrogance, but this looks like an almost unforgivable dereliction of duty by the officers.

[SouthernCalCruiseGuy]

COSTA CONCORDIA AIS Tracks

http://www.localizatodo.com/foro/default.aspx?g=posts&t=927

[Seago2]

I am stunned that this event happened.

 

Can we please have no more "excuses" or defense of this Captain.. please.. it is disgusting and insulting to the lives lost.

 

He was clearly an arrogant and egotistic a man that should have NEVER been allowed to command a ship of any kind let alone one with so many trusting souls on board.

 

More over, what kind of corporate culture is it that allows someone like this into a position of leadership? Costa and all other lines need to prove to me that their selection process is and has been capable of weeding out personalities like his.

 

This kind of bravado should never be allowed... ever.

 

I am totally disgusted with Costa and I do lay blame at their feet... yes, this man could be a very skilled chameleon and may have fooled everyone, but if his personality is what it appears, my guess is that we will soon see stories from people he has worked with that will support a path of behavior that could have forestalled his ability to make such bad decisions.

 

I appreciate people trying to quell rumors, but it is time to tell it like it is and point out the horror, the damage, the effect this will have on the entire industry... there is no sugar coating to this, save for the rescue and well being of the crew and passengers and those individual acts that did what could be done to help. I also think that the real hero is the one who eventually stood up to the captain and called for the Abandon ship... and to whit... it now appears that if the Abandon call had been made earlier, and the guests weren't lied to about the situation, lives would have been saved....

 

.....and that is the real tragedy.... the captain picked his sense of well being over the lives of his passengers.

 

so sad... :(

 

This. Sorry to copy such a huge post but I couldn't agree more.

[atush]

I actually have two questions that I just saw.

 

On Twitter, I follow @BreakingNews. They said that a judge ordered the captain to stay in jail with a link to this article.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/17/world/europe/italy-cruise-main/index.html?on.cnn=1

 

This article mentioned a second black box was found today.

 

My questions are (this one might be a question of the Italian Legal System), why would they release him?

 

And I thought they had already recovered the black box, I had no idea there were two. And do all ships have two?

 

You tell me. Even people charged with murder get bail in the USA. The judge denied bail I guess( I just saw that too).

 

As for the number of boxes, I would not be surprised if there were mroe than 2.

[Hunwolf]

You tell me. Even people charged with murder get bail in the USA. The judge denied bail I guess( I just saw that too).

 

As for the number of boxes, I would not be surprised if there were mroe than 2.

 

That is highly variable...depending on whether you're a flight risk...your financial status...past history...etc.

[Davyjonesrugrat]

Drunk?

Sheer panic, the Captain would be in a very complex situation. He has just run a £320m vessel aground, he has 4200 pax/crew onboard. His career has just gone pear shaped. He has thoughts on how to save his vessel, getting all the relevant sorted out, what is a red herring, what is real, what is the true situation, he has various people asking for instructions or telling him information. I dont think 'drunk' will come into it - I would be thinking he is under great pressure and might be on the point of being unable to cope.....

 

Im not defending him I am just looking at what he might be going through, unless you are in these types of circumstances its kind of hard to appreciate the pressures. It is my opinion that he has been negligent through his actions and the full force of the law will be levied against him for it.

 

rgds

[mikalsen]

This is a transcript from CNN.

 

Recordings between the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship and the Livorno Port Authority, which is part of the Coastal Guards, have given new insight into what happened on the ship when it hit rocks Friday night just off Italy's western coast.

 

 

Below are several transcripts of recordings between authorities and the captain published by the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera and translated by CNN's Hada Messia. The first calls came in right after midnight

 

Livorno Port Authorities: "Concordia, we ask you if all is OK there."

 

Concordia: "All is well."

 

-----------------------

 

Port authority: "Concordia, We ask you if all is well there."

 

Concordia: "All is well. It is only a technical failure."

 

-----------------------

 

Port authority: "How many people are on board?"

 

Schettino: "Two-three hundred"

 

Port authority: "How come so few people? Are you on board?’

 

Schettino: "No, I’m not on board because the ship is keeling. We’ve abandoned it."

 

Port authority: "What? You’ve abandoned the ship?"

 

Schettino: "No. What abandon? I’m here."

 

-----------------------

 

Italian Coast Guard Capt. Gregorio De Falco: "Captain. This is De Falco from Livorno."

 

Schettino: "Commandant, I’ve also alerted the company… I’m being told that there are still passengers on board, apparently they are about one hundred… but I repeat…"

 

De Falco: "Captain. You are not able to tell me an exact figure? About a hundred people, it seems?

 

Schettino: "Commandant, I am not able to give you an exact figure because let me explain... while we were evacuating the last passengers… now we are all here with all the officers…"

 

De Falco: "Where are you? On the lifeboats? All the officers?"

 

Schettino: "Yes, we are with the second commander…"

 

De Falco: "Forgive me, but before you were only with a sailor. If the officers managed to get down, it means that they could still move."

 

Schettino: "Yes...in fact...

 

De Falco: "Then why don’t they get back on board? To monitor the operation and then they can tell us. Thank you."

 

Schettino: "No it is not possible…"

 

De Falco: "Send them on board. Send one person on board to coordinate..."

 

Schettino: "But I am doing the coordination."

 

De Falco: "I’m giving you an order captain. You need to send someone on board."

 

Schettino: "We are going on board to coordinate."

 

De Falco: "Exactly. You need to get on board to coordinate the evacuation. Is that clear?!"

 

Schettino: "But we can’t get on board now…the ship is now…(hard to understand)..."

 

De Falco: "Why did you tell them to get down?"

 

Schettino: "What do you mean get down? We abandoned the ship…the ship turned ..."

 

De Falco: "...and with one hundred people on board you abandon the ship? (expletive)"

 

Schettino: "I did not abandon any ship with 100 people…the ship (hard to understand)...we were catapulted into the water..."

 

De Falco: We’ll see later what happened. OK? Now tell me everything that takes place. Everything. Get under with the lifeboat (not very clear at this point). Don’t move. Clear?"

 

Schettino: "Commandant..we are here…we are here..."

 

-----------------------

 

Port authority: "You must return on board. Climb the ladder (rope ladder), return to the fore (stem) and coordinate the work."

 

Schettino does not reply

 

Port authority: "You must tell us how many people are on board, how many women, how many children. You have to coordinate the rescue operation. Commander, this is an order. Now I’m in charge, you have abandoned ship and now you are going to go to the stem and coordinate the work. There are already dead bodies."

 

Schettino: "How many?"

 

Port authority: "You should be the one telling me this…What do you want to do? Do you want to go home?...Now go back on the stem and tell me what to do.."

 

The video timed out attempting to play. Please ensure that you do not have any Flash or JavaScript blocking plugins active.

-----------------------

 

Italian Coast Guard Capt. Gregorio De Falco: "Listen, this is De Falco from Livorno. Am I speaking with the captain?"

 

Schettino: "Yes."

 

 

Italian Coast Guard Capt. Gregorio De Falco: "Tell me your name."

 

Schettino: "This is Captain Schettino, commandant."

 

De Falco: "Listen Schettino, there are people trapped on board. Now, you have to go with your lifeboat and go under the boat stem on the straight side, there is a ladder there."

 

De Falco: "Get on board on the ship and tell me, you tell me how many people there are."

 

De Falco: "Clear? I’m recording this conversation, Captain Schettino."

 

 

Schettino: "Well then commandant, I need to tell you something."

 

De Falco: "Speak loudly."

 

Schettino: "The ship now…I’m here in front of it..."

 

De Falco: "Captain, speak loudly."

 

Schettino: "Commandant, at this moment the ship is tilted."

 

De Falco: "I understand. Listen. There are people who are coming down the stem ladder. You must take that ladder in the opposite direction. Get on board the ship and you tell me how many people are on board, and what do they have. Clear? You tell me if there are children, women, people with special needs. And you tell me how many there are of each category..."

 

De Falco: "Is that clear?"

 

De Falco: "Look Schettino, you might have been saved from the sea, but I will make sure you go through a very rough time…I will make sure you go through a lot of trouble. Get on board, damn it."

 

The video timed out attempting to play. Please ensure that you do not have any Flash or JavaScript blocking plugins active.

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Schettino: "Commandant, please…"

 

Port authority: "No...please. No, you get on board. Assure me that you are getting on board."

 

Schettino: (Hard to understand) "I’m here with the rescuers. I’m here. I’ve not gone anywhere. I’m here."

 

Port authority: "What are you doing captain?"

 

Schettino: "I’m here coordinating the rescue."

 

Port authority: (Speaks over captain): "What are you coordinating there? Go on board and coordinate from there the rescue operation. Are you refusing?"

 

Schettino: "No, no, I’m not refusing."

 

Port authority: "You are refusing to go on board? And why are you not going on board?"

 

Schettino: "I am going because now there is the other motorboat (Lancia) that has stopped now."

 

Port authority: "You go on board. It is an order. You cannot make any other evaluations. You have declared abandoning ship. Now I’m in charge. You get on board. Is it clear?"

 

Schettino: "Commandant..."

 

Port authority over captain: "Are you not listening to me.."

 

Schettino speaks over Port authority: "I’m going..."

 

Schettino: "Call me immediately when you get on board. Our rescue officer is there."

 

Schettino: "Where is your rescue officer?"

 

Port authority: "My rescue officer is at the stem…Go …(can hear captain saying OK)…There are already bodies, Schettino."

 

Schettino: "How many dead bodies are there?"

 

Port authority: "I don’t know. I know of one. I’ve heard of one. You are the one to tell me how many there are. Christ!"

 

Schettino: "Are you aware that it is dark here and we cannot see anything?"

 

Port authority: "So? Do you want to go home Schettino? It is dark and you want to go home? Climb the ladder and get on the stem."

 

Port authority: "...and tell me what can be done, how many people are there, what do they need. Now."

 

Schettino: "Commandant, we are with the second in command…"

 

Port authority: "Then both of you climb up. What is his name?"

 

Schettino: "Dimitris Christidis."

 

Port authority: "You are your guard. Go on board, now!"

 

Schettino: "Commandant… I want to go on board, it is just that the other lifeboat here…there are other rescue operators... it has stopped and it is stuck there... now I’ve called other rescue operators..."

 

Port authority: "It is one hour that you are telling me this. You go on board. On b.o.a.r.d (says the word slowly almost spelling it out). And you immediately tell me how many people there are"

[mferris77]

Rock in hull

 

 

You know, that right there is going to pose a problem as well. There is another shot of that rock with a person in a boat in the same shot. That rock is enormous. They're going to have to remove it before they could ever attempt to patch the hole and re-float the boat. I could be way off but I estimate that it's 3 meters by 3 meters (hard to tell how much is actually inside the hull, though). That ends up with it weighing nearly 9 tons.

[scubababy]

My first post on this horrific event.

I just listened to BBC world radio the conversation between the harbor master and the captain. It's sickening. Absolutely sickening. I was driving back to work from an appointment, and I can't stop thinking about this whole tragedy. I just cannot fathom that someone with so much responsibility would run with their tail between their legs.

I completely agree with Shogun. Throw away the key on this coward.

 

My prayers and thoughts are with everyone touched by this event.

Patti

[Davyjonesrugrat]

I think you are missing the point...I'm not sure it was so much as panic...I would bet my house that he is arrogant, and delayed the mayday call not due to panic but because he thought he could correct the situation without any assistance.

 

I'm sure he also delayed the call to cover his tracks a bit, to formulate a plan or story, he needed to buy himself time to get away from the rocks he hit in an effort to hide/obscure exactly what happened.

 

He was in full on CYA mode.

A Captains worst call is declaring 'Mayday' he knows that his career is over as he will be held accountable for the loss of his ship, even if he is not to blame he will still be tarred (In this case there is little doubt of his actions being to blame)

 

The time delay I firmly believe would in part be due to the repair teams closing up and attempting to inspect the relevant damage, however if some of the 'repair' teams were killed in the initial impact or shortly afterwards (I.E. Say the Engine room flooded quickly killing all) then they might not be operating as they should. As yet I have seen no mention of any Engine room staff being rescued, this area would be very close to the point of contact.

 

I have on numerous occasions in my work had to ask the skipper of the ship is he declaring 'Mayday' or 'Panpan', sometimes I might have to stress the predicament that the ship is in. Its not often so clear cut and dry, in this incident I would imagine that the Captain is hoping the situation is just minimal.

 

rgds

[JJSMaine]

Im not defending him I am just looking at what he might be going through, unless you are in these types of circumstances its kind of hard to appreciate the pressures. It is my opinion that he has been negligent through his actions and the full force of the law will be levied against him for it.

 

rgds

 

Very much looking at what he might be going through.. I have been in similar horrific incidents.... think of a bad car accident with roll over... I was at fault.. I was a teenager and did something stupid... the fear that courses through your body... the feeling that it is just like a falling/crashing dream, only you don't wake up.. it is real and no dream ... and the denial approaches.. thoughts of a way to explain it away... fear of repercussion from totaling the parents car, of hurting friends in the car... of the police etc etc... Magnify these feelings 4200 times and I could easily see the Captain crumbling under the weight of the realization of his own stupidity and incompetence.

 

.. I got nauseous just now reading about the additional bodies they found.. knowing these people were likely in the location they were supposed to be and being apparently forgotten or neglected by the crew... trusting that if they stayed in their muster station they would be ok... hitting the rock was a very stupid mistake... not allowing the crew the time to conduct a proper evacuation is the real crime here for me... hitting the rock was an accident.... forcing the crew to mutiny in order to get the life boats away was inexcusable on any level as it was a conscious decision.... and I have no words for this act.....

 

I hope I am proven wrong..

[scottcruises]

I agree as well, except I think the port anchor should have been the one deployed in order to get a better pivot point to swing the ship around counter clockwise. One other thing is that I think the captain waited to swing the ship until the ship cleared the town's harbor in order not to block the harbor with the ship for the foreseeable future.

 

 

I agree he didn't want to block the harbor.

 

The stupidity of the fly by pass still is incredible to me. Even a 10 knot easterly wind could have been enough to push him that extra 30-50 meters that put him on the rocks.

 

Bad for the industry when people realize they're putting their lives in the hands of people making peanuts.

[atush]

That is highly variable...depending on whether you're a flight risk...your financial status...past history...etc.

 

Well given his performance during the abandon ship, I am going to go with flight risk for 100 Alex?

[guernseyguy]

The time delay I firmly believe would in part be due to the repair teams closing up and attempting to inspect the relevant damage, however if some of the 'repair' teams were killed in the initial impact or shortly afterwards (I.E. Say the Engine room flooded quickly killing all) then they might not be operating as they should.

 

The Italian press report that the officer sent to inspect the engine room was screaming at him that "it's flooded, it's filling with water" but he got no reply from the captain, who was busy on the phone to head office and did not acknowledge repeated calls for decisions .

[Red Mini Stapler]

as much as i think the captain is an idiot, at the same time i sorta feel bad for him. his stupid decision cost him his glamorous job as a captain, and on top of it, he needs to deal with the fact that people died because of his stupid decision for the rest of his life, at least i hope he does, otherwise he's a true scumbag.

[Jimnbigd]

The loss of life is the most tragic part of this disaster and my heart goes out to the family and friends.

But I assume Costa will lose tons of money over this, even with insurance.

Would you sail with Costa? (I would not based on this incident.)

For those of you already booked with Costa, are you considering canceling? (I would if I were booked.)

Do you think this will cause Costa to fold? (I do.)

[JJSMaine]

"" Mario Palombo, a former captain of the doomed Costa Concordia with whom Schettino served as first mate for four years, told investigators that he was "too high-spirited and a daredevil," local media reported. ""

 

From this news article:http://www.canada.com/news/Italian+cruise+ship+captain+high+spirited+daredevil/6008056/story.html

[bazzaw]

atush thay kind of 'only the US can sort stuff out' sentiment isnt really helpful and its a pity that some people take this tone...I've already read 'this would never happen on a US registered ship' and 'this would never happen with US crew' posts on other threads....

 

It all depends on whether these kind of statements are true or not. They could be generalisations - or they may be facts. The story told about the missing child councillor is true - and the poster thinks that IF US authorities had been in charge of the investigation, a better investigation would have ensued. I don't know if that is true or not - but it may be.

 

Barry

[boogs]

I agree as well, except I think the port anchor should have been the one deployed in order to get a better pivot point to swing the ship around counter clockwise.

 

That's what I thought as well. When I owned a pleasure boat, when we wanted to anchor in soft, muddy bottoms, we'd drop the anchor to the starboard side because it was stored on the starboard side of the forward deck. When the anchor caught, the boat would swing clockwise until it settled into the current. If the Concordia's starboard anchor had been deployed to turn it around, it should have swung clockwise, which would not have been successful since the aft end of the ship would have swung into that large rock outcropping the ship settled next to. I suspect the anchor was released after the ship settled on the bottom to keep it from sliding away.