Italy Is Not Liking The Captain

[graphicguy]

I thought the same...."the First Officer fell into the lifeboat, too?"

 

Still waiting to hear Costa/Carnival's report on what they told the Captain to do, if and what they knew about the course the Capt was taking, and what they told the Capt to do after he reported the shipwreck.

[genegri]

I am not kidding you one bit. I am not defending the captain at all if that's where your ??? and !!! came from. I want to know in a situation like this, what exactly is a captain except to do on board which can't be done off board.

 

Thank you! This is the type of answers I am looking for. I was under the impression all evacuations just follow a known process which all officers and crew know without more instructions from the captain.

 

You are exactly right. To have a successful evacuation, all officers and crew need to be well trained on the procedures and then actually follow it. It is not about one captain staying on ship counting passengers.

 

If I understand your question right, I think the notion a captain has to stay with the ship is partly symbolic, which I don't want to debate. I am sure there is a lot good wisdom behind it. But it also is conceivable to me in some disastrous situations a captain may very well be able to perform his job better off board rather than on board. I think that is your question.

 

I am speaking in general though, not this particular captain in this particular situation. If the reports are true, Captain Schettino did not get off board to help but to flee. Apparently the jury is still out whether his steering the ship to shallow water saved lives. So for now I will give him the benefit of doubt on that action. But his actions afterwards were entirely inexcusable if I am to believe the news.

[ducklite]

It's all about leadership, something Captain Coward obvious failed miserably at.

[molole]

You are exactly right. To have a successful evacuation, all officers and crew need to be well trained on the procedures and then actually follow it. It is not about one captain staying on ship counting passengers.

 

If I understand your question right, I think the notion a captain has to stay with the ship is partly symbolic, which I don't want to debate. I am sure there is a lot good wisdom behind it. But it also is conceivable to me in some disastrous situations a captain may very well be able to perform his job better off board rather than on board. I think that is your question.

 

I am speaking in general though, not this particular captain in this particular situation. If the reports are true, Captain Schettino did not get off board to help but to flee. Apparently the jury is still out whether his steering the ship to shallow water saved lives. So for now I will give him the benefit of doubt on that action. But his actions afterwards were entirely inexcusable if I am to believe the news.

 

I agree 100%. Well said!

[Pookeybear1966]

Here is a recording with English Caption:

 

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

 

What I don't understand is what do people expect the captain to do on board? I don't know if he would be more effective inside than outside.

 

Lead the effort to get passengers and crew off the ship...communicate with port authority on how many hurt, injured, or missing. There is alot of reasons he SHOULD stay on board. He is the Captain!

[Jman1118]

This captain is going to need a good lawyer to save himself from being in jail for a really long time. What kind of captain abandons the ship without helping anybody.

[USNUZULOOSE]

What bothers me is he under house arrest. He is living in comfort and the for the people who lost someone has no answers. It seems there is no accountability for someones actions any more. Costa/Carnival will pay for his fees for the attorney, and yet the victims got nothing.:(

[Janman]

A long translation by Concernedcostaemployee of an article that appeared in La Repubblica yesterday can be found on the Costa Concordia sinking thread p 119 post # 2378. It gives insite into the captain's actions and relationship with the other officers. Too long for me to copy and paste here. Must read!

[seatraveler24]

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.

Seriously?

[shebawalk]

Is that Manager of a superliner or an office?

 

I'm sure that you didn't mean that to be a snide comment, but it sounds like it. GOOD managers make sure that their employees and customers are safe. Does that mean that they do it by themselves? Read John Heald's blog about the Carnival fire. The captain on that ship did what had to be done. And so did his crew.

[Aus Traveller]

Be a calming presence and voice of authority in the evacuation process. Tell people (staff, crew, and passengers) what to do....... If you were a panicked passenger would you be more likely to listen to the captain telling you what to do or a deck hand telling you what to do? The captain should set the whole tone of dealing with any emergency.

Yes, yes, yes. He should be leading and inspiring his staff and crew.:)

[Aus Traveller]

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.

I believe J. Bruce Ismay helped load lifeboats and only got into one as it was starting to be lowered and when there was no-one else in the vacinity to get on board. None of the Titanic's lifeboats were full. Ismay's life was ruined by the criticisms heaped on him and the fact that he could not come to terms with the number of people who died.

 

Frankly I think Ismay was treated badly at the time and history has also dealt too harshly with him.

 

Nothing would be too bad for the captain of the Costa Concordia.

[sail2sea]

You are exactly right. To have a successful evacuation, all officers and crew need to be well trained on the procedures and then actually follow it. It is not about one captain staying on ship counting passengers.

 

If I understand your question right, I think the notion a captain has to stay with the ship is partly symbolic, which I don't want to debate. I am sure there is a lot good wisdom behind it. But it also is conceivable to me in some disastrous situations a captain may very well be able to perform his job better off board rather than on board. I think that is your question.

 

I am speaking in general though, not this particular captain in this particular situation. If the reports are true, Captain Schettino did not get off board to help but to flee. Apparently the jury is still out whether his steering the ship to shallow water saved lives. So for now I will give him the benefit of doubt on that action. But his actions afterwards were entirely inexcusable if I am to believe the news.

 

Thank you! Very intelligent answer!

[genegri]

^ And you had a very valid and interesting question. Certain things are more symbolic than always 100% practical and nothing is ever absolute. Funny some people couldn't read.

[Jolimont]

I have to say I'm enjoying the whole "vado a bordo cazzo" t-shirts and all. Perfectly fitting I think!

[USNUZULOOSE]

I have to say I'm enjoying the whole "vado a bordo cazzo" t-shirts and all. Perfectly fitting I think!

 

I guess I will google and not ask for translation

[sail2sea]

^ And you had a very valid and interesting question. Certain things are more symbolic than always 100% practical and nothing is ever absolute. Funny some people couldn't read.

 

LOL, I just shake my head and laugh, what the heck he was quacking about. :D I always simply ignore stupid. LOL