LESS THAN one minute before the luxury liner Costa Concordia smashed into rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio last January 13th, the vessel’s captain, Francesco Schettino, and others with him on the bridge were joking about a possible shipwreck.
At 9.44pm, to the amusement of those around him, Capt Schettino, speaking in English, ordered his Indonesian helmsman to change course, saying, “350, otherwise we go on the rocks”. Which is precisely what the Costa Concordia did one minute later, prior to running aground on the Giglio coastline with the loss of 32 lives.
Details of the dramatic events of the night of the disaster have been heard during preliminary hearings in a court in Grosseto this week. Essentially, these hearings are intended to decide just who should be charged with responsibility at a trial probably early next year.
During the first two days of the hearings, the court heard detailed evidence from a court-appointed panel of four marine experts who had access to both the vessel’s black box and to digital and paper records removed from the wreck.
Much of the evidence considered so far looks compromising for the position of Capt Schettino.
The experts point out that the captain presented himself at the bridge shortly before the collision in the company of three people. These included the vessel’s chef and a Moldavian woman, Domnica Cemortan, all of whom had no business on the bridge. Not only do the experts argue that the crash was avoidable – Capt Schettino had opted to do a “sail-by” much too close to land – but they also reject his claim that it was thanks only to his skills that the liner ended up on the Giglio shoreline rather than out at sea, thus saving lives.
“Not only was the collision avoidable . . . but the subsequent emergency manoeuvre was the result of chance and good fortune,” states the report.
The experts make the case that, with the engine rooms flooded and the vessel’s rudder blocked, there was nothing the captain could have done to “steer” the liner.
Furthermore, they suggest that, in the minutes after the vessel hit the rocks, there was much confusion and little clear leadership on the bridge.
Yesterday’s hearing also touched on another of the most controversial elements of this disaster – the 45-minute delay in sounding the “abandon ship” call.
In an indication of what seems sure to become a major issue of disagreement at the trial proper, Capt Schettino has indicated the Costa Cruise company had initially urged him to “wait”, according to evidence given by him last July and read out in court yesterday.
Grosseto state prosecutor Francesco Verusio suggested yesterday that the hearings, which began on Monday, may well go on until the end of next week.