Italy Is Not Liking The Captain

[Shake]

I think the situation is different. An airplane is much smaller and with few officers. The pilot can do it easily himself.

 

I imagine for a ship of this size it's more effective to have several officers to actually do the double checking and report back to the captain.

 

 

What....report back to the Captain when the Captain is Not even on the Sinking ship with more than 200 guests left to be evacuated and 35 missing? Why is he Not On The Sinking Boat ???

 

If you want to accept and condone a Lying, Egotistical, Coward, that is your choice only. :(

[Tarpeian Rock]

I always thought the Captain went down with the ship if necessary ----- perhaps that sounds dramatic, but I thought even the Capt of the Titanic did that -----

 

This whole thing has sickened me tonight as I hear the remarks of the Captain and see the photos - and think of those people who have relatives still missing .......

 

Hope he sleeps well ....

 

 

 

 

And, as I recall, Captain Piero Calami of the Andrea Doria did stay on to the end and had to be forced off by the remaining officers in the last lifeboat.

[seatraveler24]

coward!

[tinybabynurse]

"..The captain should set the whole tone of dealing with any emergency..."

 

 

It appears that he did just that.

 

 

 

TBN's Hubby

[izatu]

ok, so have some questions and or doubts.

 

if this was an american ship, then the corp would have been hiding the actions of the captain as long as possible because, legally, the actions of the captain are considered their own. exxon valdez for example, to get the full story it was like pulling teeth and it was only when the exxon was ready with the wheels of the bus, did they throw the capt under it.

 

here, the italian company very quickly threw cap't coward under the bus. this makes me wonder if they have any self interest in doing so. and, if they do, then maybe we should all take a step back.

 

i agree this captain was terrible. but, i in no way think costa is off the hook for all the bad behavior they are responsible for either.

[sail2sea]

ok, so have some questions and or doubts.

 

if this was an american ship, then the corp would have been hiding the actions of the captain as long as possible because, legally, the actions of the captain are considered their own. exxon valdez for example, to get the full story it was like pulling teeth and it was only when the exxon was ready with the wheels of the bus, did they throw the capt under it.

 

here, the italian company very quickly threw cap't coward under the bus. this makes me wonder if they have any self interest in doing so. and, if they do, then maybe we should all take a step back.

 

i agree this captain was terrible. but, i in no way think costa is off the hook for all the bad behavior they are responsible for either.

 

A lot of current reporting come from an sensationalized angle. Many people are very emotional and respond to it. Surely more facts and evidences will come out as the investigation goes on. It may or may not be as clear cut as it seems now.

 

I also noticed American accidents investigations usually take a long time before any conclusion. Both authorities and involved parties tend to give very vague and non-committal answers during the lengthy investigation. In comparison, the Italians seem to point fingers immediately. Perhaps it's because the answer is indeed clear as day. Or perhaps it's responding to people's demand for answers. We all have to wait and see.

[sail2sea]

I'm a manager, and I can tell you that the last person to leave in any emergency is me. In a fire drill, I check to make sure everyone is cleared before I leave. In bad weather, my staff goes home before me.

 

In our office, designated facilities staff do that.

 

You can't know what needs to be done when you have taken the first life boat off the ship.

 

That's a valid point.

[Jenna1983]

ok, so have some questions and or doubts.

 

if this was an american ship, then the corp would have been hiding the actions of the captain as long as possible because, legally, the actions of the captain are considered their own. exxon valdez for example, to get the full story it was like pulling teeth and it was only when the exxon was ready with the wheels of the bus, did they throw the capt under it.

 

here, the italian company very quickly threw cap't coward under the bus. this makes me wonder if they have any self interest in doing so. and, if they do, then maybe we should all take a step back.

 

i agree this captain was terrible. but, i in no way think costa is off the hook for all the bad behavior they are responsible for either.

 

 

I think if this was any ship that sailed out of the US that if they knew it was due to fault on the ship's handler, i.e. Captain, they'd be quick to point out, just like Costa, whose fault it was. Let's face it: Costa heads weren't driving the ship. Unless they approved this "sail by," they didn't tell him to do it. He chose to do it and miraculously saw "uncharted" but charted rocks.

 

I

[izatu]

speaking only as to american law, the mere fact that they hired him and he works for them as captain of ship makes them responsible. with evidence of previous "bows" or "sail-bys" - legally a lawyer has no probs pinning on costa or parent co. here in america. that is why they would hold back as long as possible until they got a good defense together.

 

but, costa CEO gave first press conference and pointed finger IMMEDIATELY at capt. coward. perhaps there was no point in fighting it because of italian cost guard, not sure. but, i do have to question costa's self interest here and what they are capable of in terms of deflecting from their own wrong doing.

[Sillyjilly]

speaking only as to american law, the mere fact that they hired him and he works for them as captain of ship makes them responsible. with evidence of previous "bows" or "sail-bys" - legally a lawyer has no probs pinning on costa or parent co. here in america. that is why they would hold back as long as possible until they got a good defense together.

 

but, costa CEO gave first press conference and pointed finger IMMEDIATELY at capt. coward. perhaps there was no point in fighting it because of italian cost guard, not sure. but, i do have to question costa's self interest here and what they are capable of in terms of deflecting from their own wrong doing.

 

If they saw the video we just watched, I'd have been pointing at him too. I'm sure they knew more than we did, before we did.

[Starlight Durban Cruising]

Italians can be hot tempered & this article shows it . We are 50% Italian ;however ,very American & we have been to Irtaly twice .Thus ,we have a good idea of how the Italians feel ;)

 

The Italians can be animated even when not angry :eek: :). (My aunty's late husband was Italian, and it was always fun hearing him talk when he visited).

 

I think the Coast Guard had every right to be furious in this instance.

A picture to put a face to the voice of Capt. Gregorio De Falco (Italian Coast Guard):

 

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/undated-portrait-coastguard-officer-gregorio-maria-falco-photo-185206382.html

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/jan/17/costa-concordia-captain-phone-call-video

[bazzaw]

 

Yes, the Italians hate him, and with good reason. This man is making them all look bad, he's bringing dishonor to his country and to his profession. And he probably killed a couple dozen people at least with his incompetence and carelessness.

 

.

 

What is it that they hate him most for ???

 

Barry

[Sutho]

You can tell by his arrest photos how quickly he got off the ship. He never had time to put gel/wax in his hair and comb it. His actions in abandoning the ship give J. Bruce Ismay a good name. He certainly broke Ismay's record in abandoning the Titanic.

[Gerrym]

I'm a manager, and I can tell you that the last person to leave in any emergency is me. In a fire drill, I check to make sure everyone is cleared before I leave. In bad weather, my staff goes home before me.

 

.

 

 

 

Is that Manager of a superliner or an office?

[BeyondKen]

If this was an American ship, then the corp would have been hiding the actions of the captain as long as possible.

Not true. When the Carnival Splendor was stranded at sea by an engine room fire, their cruise director wrote up in detail what the captain and crew's actions were:

 

johnhealdsblog.com/2010/11/12/smoke-on-the-water-part-1

[graphicguy]

ok, so have some questions and or doubts.

 

here, the italian company very quickly threw cap't coward under the bus. this makes me wonder if they have any self interest in doing so. and, if they do, then maybe we should all take a step back.

 

i agree this captain was terrible. but, i in no way think costa is off the hook for all the bad behavior they are responsible for either.

 

I agree. Captain behaved as a coward. And, I did hear at least a couple of news reports stating that the Capt did indeed hail a cab once ashore (even after being chewed out by the Coast Guard to get back on board) to get "as far away as possible".

 

Are these stories true? I don't know. There's plenty of damning evidence against the Capt, however.

 

What I also want to know is Costa's involvement.

 

-Did the Capt undertake this risky course alone? Against Costa's direction?

-Costa/Carnival had to know where the ship was and it's heading. Did they authorize the Captain's course? They had done so before.

-What was the communication between the Capt and Costa/Carnival during this tragedy? What did they tell him to do and say? Did they want him to state it was just a "technical glitch" to minimize the financial damage that is bound to occur?

 

As many questions as we have about the Captain's behavior, I have even more for Costa/Carnival.

[mainelycruising]

I do remember reading yesterday that a female crew member was speaking highly of him and saying all that has been written so far were lies. Of course that was before all the truth began to emerge. It's possible this person was fake and just trying to create drama or distraction. She also stated that he had remained with the ship. So that speaks volumes as to her credibility.

 

I think most of us who read her post yesterday think it is a fake.

[molole]

I think the situation is different. An airplane is much smaller and with few officers. The pilot can do it easily himself.

 

I imagine for a ship of this size it's more effective to have several officers to actually do the double checking and report back to the captain.

 

I agree. A ship is so huge it needs a team.

[Esprit]

It will be interesting to see when the true facts come out that the Captain may have actually saved thousands of lives.

 

He may well have made a mistake sailing too close to the coast but the sea charts may have incorrectly failed to show the rocks he hit.

 

Had he not quickly dropped the anchor in order to swing the ship around towards the harbour and move to shallower water the ship would have undoubtedly sunk completely in deeper water. The damage assessment team would have relayed to the bridge the speed of the water flooding in so getting to shallow water was a priority.

 

As I understand it your best life boat is the ship you are on so to delay the abandon ship order was perhaps the best option given that the ship was sitting in low water near to the coastline.

 

Hindsight is of course a wonderful thing.

[ducklite]

I agree. A ship is so huge it needs a team.

 

With the captain as a direct part of it.

[Quasar1011]

-What was the communication between the Capt and Costa/Carnival during this tragedy? What did they tell him to do and say?

 

That's the problem! I don't want my Captain on the phone to corporate during an emergency! I want him handling the emergency! From reports we have from Italian newspaper La Repubblica, the captain was on the phone to Costa for up to 40 minutes!

[guernseyguy]

Had he not quickly dropped the anchor in order to swing the ship around towards the harbour and move to shallower water the ship would have undoubtedly sunk completely in deeper water. The damage assessment team would have relayed to the bridge the speed of the water flooding in so getting to shallow water was a priority.

 

AFAIK the evidence now is that he dropped the anchor AFTER the ship came to a stop - not as part of a manoeuvre to turn the ship around.....

[BeyondKen]

Had he not quickly ... move to shallower water the ship would have undoubtedly sunk completely in deeper water.

Maybe, maybe not. But the passengers would have been safely on the lifeboats.

[molole]

With the captain as a direct part of it.

 

Of course. Nobody is disputing that. And it's a team effort.

[USNUZULOOSE]

He stated that he had pulled this stubt 3 or 4 times? Second command officer fell also? I want to hear from the passenger that handed them his life vest. You wouldnt forget that due to his uniform.