Costa Concordia redux

[Minskaya]

Not only is Costa Concordia Captain Francesco Schettino facing up to 20 years in prison for manslaughter and dereliction of duty, he may also find himself in divorce court. Testifying in court, Moldovan dancer Domnica Cemortan (26) said that she and Schettino had been having an affair for over a year and that she was on the bridge with the Captain in 2012 when the luxury liner crashed into a reef killing 32 people. Records indicate that Ms Cemortan worked aboard the Costa Concordia in 2011.

[Dreadnought]

Dumb ass, He deserves it.

His wife must be mortified. Not only sinking the liner with 32 dead but probably showing off while doing it with another woman in a place he shouldnt have invited her.

So far he's 2 for 2. If he goes to prison for 20 years he'll be 3 for 3.

[desertswo]

Dumb ass, He deserves it.

His wife must be mortified. Not only sinking the liner with 32 dead but probably showing off while doing it with another woman in a place he shouldnt have invited her.

So far he's 2 for 2. If he goes to prison for 20 years he'll be 3 for 3.

I am reminded of that old toast, "To wives and sweethearts; may they never meet." :slap: May he be somebody's "girlfriend" inside. Idiot. I didn't even like my wife on the bridge with me during dependent's cruises. For one thing, she always fell asleep in my chair and snored. :Zzzzzz:

[kamikaze06]

20 years for the death of 32 people. I believe that works out at 6.25 months per dead person. Europe obviously regard life as cheap.
If proven guilty, I would put him behind bars and throw away the key!!
English marine shoots a Taliban insurgent and gets life, am I missing something here?

[Blademaster]

20 years for the death of 32 people. I believe that works out at 6.25 months per dead person. Europe obviously regard life as cheap.
If proven guilty, I would put him behind bars and throw away the key!!
English marine shoots a Taliban insurgent and gets life, am I missing something here?

After the mishap happened, he did saved a lot of people by turning the ship towards the land and getting thousands of people off the ship. After seeing the extensive damage to the hull, it is a miracle that more people did not die.

Yes he was responsible for the initial mishap but I don't think he was a coward afterwards. The ship was tilting and it is very hard to maintain your balance as your ship is rolling and listing to her right. I think he stayed on the ship as long as he possibly could and if his account is to be believed, he fell off the boat and into the lifeboat and that is entirely a plausible scenario. When your ship is listing heavily, I don't think there is any good way of getting back onto the boat in good order because if you do, you would be interfering with the flow of evacuation. IIRC, he only got off the boat when there was a couple hundred people on board.

[Dreadnought]

A Captain NEVER leaves the ship until the last person/crew are off. I dont care what his explanation is it does not happen. The man clearly showed he was more interested in saving his own ass then those charged to his caring and protection which is exactly what his responsibility was the moment he stepped aboard as Captain.

Hopefully, he will never get that chance again because clearly he has no clue of his responsibilities as Captain.

[Blademaster]

A Captain NEVER leaves the ship until the last person/crew are off. I dont care what his explanation is it does not happen. The man clearly showed he was more interested in saving his own ass then those charged to his caring and protection which is exactly what his responsibility was the moment he stepped aboard as Captain.

Hopefully, he will never get that chance again because clearly he has no clue of his responsibilities as Captain.

That is not true that the Captain has to remain on board until the last person/crew is off. That is a myth not borne by the realities of naval keeping. What do you do if you were to fall off the boat not of your own accord when the boat suddenly listed and you lost your gripping. Now you are off the boat and people are trying to get off the boat. Do you try to get back on the boat, knowing that you would be interfering/hampering with the evacuation efforts in an effort to salvage your pride and honor. If you do that, then you just demonstrated your pride and honor is more important than the lives of the people trying to get off the boat. It is not such a simple question but more complicated. When I read the transcript of the exchange between the Italian Coast Guard captain and the Captain of the Costa Concordia, I have less respect for the Coast Guard captain than the media made it out to be.

The Coast Guard captain was in a very safe are, i.e., his boat was not sinking, he was in no danger of his life and his crew, and he could calmly assess the situation and help the captain of the boat evacuate the boat's passengers. But instead he chose to harangue him and did whatever he did. Only time and a deep and thorough assessment of the actions will reveal whether he did more good or not.

So, I choose to reserve my judgment until all the facts come out and see what could have been done in that chaotic situation. I do accept that the Costa Concordia's captain was at fault for the sinking of the boat and the lives of the 32 people that perished. It started with the action of the Captain's decision to move closer to the island and failed to take such precautions. But as for the actions after the collision occurred, I do not agree with the Italian media's portrayal of the Captain and there are some survivors who strongly disagree with the portrayal of the Captain's actions and strongly felt that the Captain's actions saved thousands of lives.

[Dreadnought]

Well, any man that serves aboard ship wether it be privately chartered or a military ship lives and serves under that faith. The man is a coward, and he got caught. Even the Coast Guard demanded he return to the ship, if nothing else then to direct his crew in getting the passengers off safely. The man showed zero leadership at a point when that should have been his most important quality. A listing ship is no excuse for his fast departure. Many Captains endured worse and they also went down with the ship or were atleast the last person to leave.

This man didnt have to commit to that act but yet chose to flee while his passengers and crew were left to save themselves without his immediate direction nor re-assurace of his appearance or voice barking out evacuation orders over the PA system.

By doing such he created an "every man for yourself" situation which no doubt spread fear and panic among both the crew and even more for the passengers since the crew would have been trained in basic life saving skills.

You might wonder how many drowned, You also might wonder how many were trampled or knocked down or pushed out of the way by people being afraid and trying to get out of the interior or off the ship into boats.

The free traveling public has no idea of that and are there to enjoy not fear for their safety. That is why they place trust in the man on the bridge and how much he expects from his crew under times of duress.

Running a ship aground does not negate his duty although it did assist in saving lives by moving closer to shore. An act that any Captain would try if the ship was capable.

His ship was wounded and sinking by his own doing. It is His responsibility to see that all are safe even if its costs him his life. Thats the responsibility of a Captain.

I would be willing to bet that no ships Captain thinks any less of those responsibilities that he knowingly neglected and he deserved the treatment he recieved when he got ashore.

Theres a price to be paid for wearing those Captains bars
Obviously, he liked to wear them and enjoyed their benefits, but IMO failed to earn them at a very critical time when he was needed most. Doing the very job that comes with those bars.

[Gun Boat]

I can't seem to find an answer to why she took damage to port yet capsized starboard. Overly keen counter flooding? :confu:

[Blademaster]

If the crew member's testimony is true, it is indicative of the chaotic scene onboard and there was not much that the captain could do.

"I was part of the Tango India support team and we helped at least five injured people. When I could no longer see any passengers, I went with Schettino" and four others "and we found a lifeboat," he said.

"I jumped on its roof, Schettino had jumped on just before me. As soon as the lifeboat set off, the ship rolled over and the deck we had been on sank underwater. On our way to shore we picked up passengers in the water," he added.

If the captain had remained onboard, he would have drowned and for what? To satisfy a code and honor? See the actions of the captain afterwards, where he continued to save more passengers while on the lifeboat. And also, the captain and his crew were the last to leave that particular area of the ship after all passengers had embarked. When the boat is listing and in danger of being turned over, the command center on that ship is no longer there and viable.

[Blademaster]

Well, any man that serves aboard ship wether it be privately chartered or a military ship lives and serves under that faith. The man is a coward, and he got caught. Even the Coast Guard demanded he return to the ship, if nothing else then to direct his crew in getting the passengers off safely. The man showed zero leadership at a point when that should have been his most important quality. A listing ship is no excuse for his fast departure. Many Captains endured worse and they also went down with the ship or were atleast the last person to leave.


This man didnt have to commit to that act but yet chose to flee while his passengers and crew were left to save themselves without his immediate direction nor re-assurace of his appearance or voice barking out evacuation orders over the PA system.

By doing such he created an "every man for yourself" situation which no doubt spread fear and panic among both the crew and even more for the passengers since the crew would have been trained in basic life saving skills.

You might wonder how many drowned, You also might wonder how many were trampled or knocked down or pushed out of the way by people being afraid and trying to get out of the interior or off the ship into boats.

The free traveling public has no idea of that and are there to enjoy not fear for their safety. That is why they place trust in the man on the bridge and how much he expects from his crew under times of duress.

Running a ship aground does not negate his duty although it did assist in saving lives by moving closer to shore. An act that any Captain would try if the ship was capable.

His ship was wounded and sinking by his own doing. It is His responsibility to see that all are safe even if its costs him his life. Thats the responsibility of a Captain.

I would be willing to bet that no ships Captain thinks any less of those responsibilities that he knowingly neglected and he deserved the treatment he recieved when he got ashore.

Theres a price to be paid for wearing those Captains bars
Obviously, he liked to wear them and enjoyed their benefits, but IMO failed to earn them at a very critical time when he was needed most. Doing the very job that comes with those bars.

I wonder what your actions will be if you were in his shoes. It is one thing to proclaim deeds and duties of bravado and another thing when you are experiencing them. I can't remember that famous quote when it comes to proclaiming bravery and then experiencing the events that would give rise to claims of bravery and bravado.

[Dreadnought]

I wonder what your actions will be if you were in his shoes. It is one thing to proclaim deeds and duties of bravado and another thing when you are experiencing them. I can't remember that famous quote when it comes to proclaiming bravery and then experiencing the events that would give rise to claims of bravery and bravado.

One thing is for sure, he made several fundementally dumb mistakes that resulted in his current lot. When I add them up I find myself knowing that although anyone can make mistakes, mine would not be those.

I'm content knowing what its like to be responsible for people and knowing that I would be held accountable for anything less then that. I accept it, thats why I do it.

[desertswo]

I can't seem to find an answer to why she took damage to port yet capsized starboard. Overly keen counter flooding? :confu:

Not being a smartass but I don't have time to teach an entire course in ship stability, but suffice it to say the answer lies in the master's attempt to get the ship back toward the island upon which rock outcroppings he ran afoul. His attempt to save people may have in fact caused more to die. Here's why: 1) he hit the rocks on his port side; 2) in an attempt to quickly bring the ship back to the island, he never reduced speed, and executed a turn to starboard (see his track below); 3) ships heel away from the direction of turn. This can be seen in the video of an Arliegh Burke-class destroyer executing a high speed turn to port; 4) a starboard turn at relatively high speed with a massive gash on the port side actually drove more water into the ship. 5) once he had all of that water inside the skin of the ship, free surface effect takes over and doomed her for sure.

His best course of action would have been to stop the ship without turning, letting it settle, and getting everyone into the ship's boats.

[omon]

Francesco Schettino should be given permanent status, "chicken of the sea", tatooed on his forehead.

[Blademaster]

His best course of action would have been to stop the ship without turning, letting it settle, and getting everyone into the ship's boats.

In that case, Francesco was unfit to be captain to begin with and that blame lies with the higher ups.