After a year’s worth of work, taking care of the household, studies, responsibilities, and whatnot, one can only recharge oneself with a good long vacation. Italy is ranked third in the world, hosting over 62.1 million visitors in 2018. And if you want to get the best tourism experience through culturally rich Italy, a cruise tour is the way to go.
And with the same intentions, over 3000 people onboarded the Costa Concordia, promising a luxury experience of exploring Italy on a seven-day sail tour. The ship was scheduled en route from Civitavecchia near Rome to Savona in the North. Costa Cruises operated the cruise, and the captain for the tour was 52-year-old Francesco Schettino.
While the passengers were having a gala at the cruise on January 13, 2012, Schettino claimed he wanted them to get the best tour experience. He steered the ship closer to the island of Giglio, deviating from the original plan. According to Schettino, he sailed the ship close to shore to give the passengers a nice view and also salute the other marines/sailors (also known as a “sail-by”).
Schettino’s exact words for why he got close to shore were – “I was navigating by sight, because I knew those seabeds well. I had done the move three, four times.”
And in a fraction of a moment, the cruise collided with a reef known as the Scole Rocks and capsized off the coast of Tuscany, endangering the lives of 4229 people onboard. The tragic incident took the lives of 32 people.
In the preliminary investigation report, Italy’s Ministry of Infrastructures and Transports inferred that the ship “was sailing too close to the coastline, in a poorly lit shore area…at an unsafe distance at night time and at high speed (15.5 KTS).”
So, to be clear– the root cause of capsizing was that the ship sailed in dangerous proximity to the shore.
But the cause had various reasons–
Theory 1: As per Schettino, he was just trying to show the passengers a better view.
Theory 2: The married captain seemed to have an affair with a much younger Moldovan dancer. She first denied having an affair with Schettino but confirmed it in the later trials. Apparently, the dancer was present on the bridge of Costa Concordia. Prosecutors alleged that he was trying to impress his girlfriend, jeopardizing the lives of many.
Theory 3: During his trial, Schettino claimed that his instructions were miscommunicated due to the language barrier with the Helmsman Jacob Rusli Bin. He blamed the helmsman for the shipwreck, which could have been saved had he intercepted his orders correctly and quickly. However, an Italian naval admiral debunked this theory by stating that even if the helmsman reacted quickly, the crash was inevitable.
Theory 4: Costa Cruise mismanaged the cruise through faulty maneuvers, human error, and poor judgment. This theory suggests that Schettino was the only one to be blamed for the wreck. He also argued in his defense that he is a scapegoat to a bigger issue at hand. After evaluation, one naval expert stated that a shipwreck does not occur due to one trigger; there has to be a series of mismanagement.
Theory 5: Some witnesses testified that Schettino was drunk on the cruise. Per his employer, he damaged another carnival corporation ship in 2010 while entering the port of Warnemünde, Germany, at high speed.
Although these theories are debatable, there is no denying that what Schettino did after the ship capsized completely lacked humanity and exhibited cowardice. Per his account, he “fell” into a lifeboat when the ship tilted. He then drifted off safely, abandoning the boat he was in charge of. The on-duty Italian Coast Guard Commander Gregori De Falco was shocked to see the captain and yelled at him angrily, “Vada a bordo, Cazzo!” which in decent translation means “Get on your ship, F***!”
Schettino later claimed that he would have returned to his ship in a helicopter if he could. But that claim was soon bullsh*tted when Carlo Galli, a Giglio police officer, offered him a dinghy to return to the ship. But the captain straight up refused. The officer also noticed that Schettino was conveniently dry despite “falling off” the ship.
And to top off the disappointment, Schettino didn’t immediately alert the Italian Search and Rescue Authority. The crash happened at 9:45 p.m. local time. Someone else on the shore reported the incident. The Rescue team contacted the ship at 10 p.m., but the incompetent captain did not tell them what happened for more than 20 minutes, wasting precious time for rescuing.
What Happened to the Captain of the Costa Concordia Disaster?
The Captain of Costa Concordia, Francesco Schettino, was criticized heavily for his utter incompetence and neglect of the basic protocol and for deliberately endangering many’s lives. He was declared guilty of manslaughter in 2016.
He was sentenced to 10 years for multiple manslaughters, 5 years for causing a shipwreck, and 1 year for abandoning the passengers at the time of the sinking. He was not even present when Judge Giovanni Puliatti read out the verdict at the court in the city of Grosseto.
Was Costa Concordia Captain Drunk?
Although there is no definitive proof, a witness stated that Schettino was drunk around 9:05 p.m. when he left the restaurant. By 9:45 p.m., he was back on the bridge, after which the crash happened.
The passenger, Angelo Fabbri, revealed that he and his wife saw Schettino enjoying a gourmet meal with red wine at the ship’s most exclusive restaurant with a young woman (who is not his wife).
Fabri told the newspaper Il Secolo XIX–
“Schettino, in a dark uniform, was sat in front of a young woman.”
“She appeared young, initially we thought she could even be his daughter. A beautiful woman, slim, shoulder-length blonde hair, a black dress with bare arms. They were laughing, they were informal, it was very merry.”
“The wine?. There is no doubt they drank, at least a whole decanter, the last drops were poured into the commander’s glass.”
Where Is Captain of Concordia Now? Is the Costa Concordia Captain Still in Jail?
The captain was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2016. He appealed the verdict in court multiple times. But alas, he exhausted all his appeals. He then entered the prison in Rome in 2017 and remains incarcerated. He is expected to be released when he is almost 80.
More Disturbing Facts About Captain of Costa Concordia
2014: A university in Rome invited the captain in 2014 (two years after the disaster) to hold a panic management seminar.
2015: He published a book, Le Verità Sommerse, depicting his valor during the shipwreck. The book met with severe backlash as the media deemed him the most hated man in Italy. Many critics bashed him for making profits out of a tragedy potentially caused by him.
Watch Channel 5’s latest documentary, Costa Concordia: Collision at Sea, for more insight into this case.
Click here to read about another mysterious incident on a cruise involving a missing teen.
What are your thoughts on this case? Do you believe Schettino that he is being framed by the Costa Cruises officials? Or do you think this man is responsible for the tragedy?
Let us know in the comments section below.
