Cruise owners say captain made errors
Ferry Online Travel News 16/01/2012
The captain of the capsized Italian cruise ship had “committed errors” the ship’s operating firm has said.
The Costa Crociere cruise firm said in a statement on Monday that Capt Francesco Schettino had not followed standard emergency procedures and had sailed to close to the shoreline.
Schettino has been taken into custody on suspicion of manslaughter but maintains that he has done nothing wrong and that the rocks that can seen imbedded in the ship’s hull weren’t featured on his nautical charts. But the chief prosecutor on the case says that the cruise ship was taken “very ineptly” close to the coast.
Schettino said in a statement that the holiday cruise liner should have been floating over deep water when it encountered the rocks. He said the vessel was nearly 300 metres from the location where the rocks were marked.
The 52 year-old Italian has worked for the company for over a decade and has been a captain since 2006 after being promoted from second-in-command.
Meanwhile, divers continue to search for survivors after the rescue of an Italian man and a honeymooning Korean couple brought the total number of unaccounted for passengers to 15 on Sunday. The ship remains on its side just off the coast of the island of Giglio in Tuscany.
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