Costa Concordia Captain: Pathetic

[Philtaz]

'Fell into lifeboat and couldn't get out'.

http://uk.news.yahoo....feboat-121158228.html

The more he attempts to squirm his way out of his responsibility, the worse it looks for him. The audio is pretty damning.

[anotheoldgit]

What's the question?

[marval]

Even the second in command was in the same lifeboat, did he fall in as well?

[emmie]

Looks that way, ordered back to the ship by the coastguard, seems like the expression deserting the sinking ship, well and truly applies

[Philtaz]

The question AOG is whether or not his explanation is plasusible.

You can just answer yes or no.

[emmie]

It doesn't seem right that the captain would abandon ship until most if not all the passengers were on shore, and accounted for. I am aware of just how many that would be, but seems very suspect that he jumped ship long before many of the passengers got off.

[Philtaz]

Plausible even.....

[emmie]

yes

[LazyGun]

Given the factual events, it would certainly appear that the Captain is guilty of negligence and showboating at the least. There is also a suggestion of lying about the true state of damage that the ship suffered, possibly contributing to the delay in abandoning ship, and given the perception that the Captain of the ship should remain until the bitter end, the fact that he was in a lifeboat and again was somewhat evasive about that doesn't say much for his character. When this is all proven in court, they should throw the book at him, assuming all these facts are borne out.

I am surprised at the release of the audio tape and transcripts of the conversation between the coastguard and the captain though - the Captain is now being tried, scapegoated, in the court of public opinion. This is something the ship owners would probably like, since there are questions to be asked over their corporate policies.

The last time there was such public condemnation of an individual that I remember was the furore over joanna yates' landlord, chris jefferies, and in the end he was found innocent, but not before the media had performed a thorough character assassination on him.

This media frenzy over apportioning all the blame on captain schettino feels a bit like that...........

[Meg888]

He is pathetic, they've got it in one when calling him a coward. But it's also in the news that he sailed the Concordia like he was driving a Ferrari; he's obviously a bit of a flambouyent egotist by the sounds; so he should have been pulled up by his supreriors for acting in this manner, it's likely it would become a H&S issue at some point. Unless, everyone knew and just thought he's a canny Jack the Lad, but now it's hit the fan - leave him to take ALL the blame.

[Philtaz]

Sorry em10, my comment about yes or no was just a sarcastic swipe at AOG.

http://www.theanswerb.../Question1097194.html

[emmie]

perhaps it does, but going on eye witness accounts, those people who have spoken with the press, they have indicated that the captain did leave, and that many of the crew were shoving them out of the way to get to the lifeboats.
They are the ones who will be crucial in an enquiry. If the captain is guilty then he should go to prison. I am not sure of the death toll, but it's lives lost, and he is the Captain who had overall responsibility for the safety of the passengers and crew

[emmie]

Phil, i was agreeing with you, sorry for the confusion.

[Khandro]

No defence meant here, but there are many instances where the 'Woman and children first' policy, has led to the deaths of all on board the life vessel because of not having experienced sailors with them to take control of it, - this happened with the Titanic I believe. I doubt that it was the motivation here though!

[seadogg]

When the case of the captain is decided, maybe people will ask questions about the floating blocks of flats with comparatively shallow draught that some cruise ships have become.

[emmie]

seadogg, that was a point in the papers, that these vessels are not fit for purpose, so perhaps we will see more of this type of accident. I sincerely hope not of course, but reading through the article made me wonder at building ever larger ships, have they not learned anything from the Titanic disaster, no matter who was responsible.

[trionam]

its a crazy excuse to give did he accidentally fall into the taxi at the port aswell?I wonder what will change on ships as a result of this,I was on a ship similar in size to the concordia and Im thinking now is it wise to store the lifejackets in the cabins as you might not be able to get back there?

[emmie]

according to this news report, they still have the same method of lowering the lifeboats, why, as this has proven a failure time and time again.

[andy-hughes]

trionam - as an experienced cruiser on the P & O line, i can confirm that there are life jackets for everyone on board stored on the decks as well as in the cabins.

Obviously it makes lifeboat access quicker and easier if passengers have got their lj's on - as per the drill before sailing - but in the event that cabin access is not possible, a deck lifejacket is available.

[andy-hughes]

I'm with LazyGun on this one - a 'trial by media' is not condusive to a fair and unbiased legal process.

It is very easy to condemn the captain based on the media reports, but it needs to be remembered that they are just that - media reports, and it will take until the formal trial for everyone, including the participants in this dreadful incident, for a level of accuracy to be established.