Costa Concordia captain admits error
Ferry Online Travel News 19/01/2012
The captain of the capsized Costa Concordia cruise ship has admitted to making a navigational error.
According to Italian media reports, a leaked transcript has revealed that Captain Francesco Schettino admitted to investigators this week that he had ordered his crew to “turn too late” as the luxury vessel sailed close to the shore of the Tuscan island of Giglio on Friday.
The ship remains partially sunken just metres from the rocky shore of the island and at least 11 people are confirmed dead after it ran into huge rocks below the surface on Friday, causing water to fill the hull. There were about 4,200 passengers and crew onboard and about 20 people are still unaccounted for after the search for survivors was called off several days after the incident.
Schettino reportedly said in the transcript that he had been sailing by sight when the ship capsized. He claims that he was aware of the depths and was confident because he had captained the same route several times before. He added however that he had made the decision to turn too late and that the water was simply too shallow but said that he didn’t know why it happened.
According to Costa Crociere, the ship’s owner and operating firm, Schettino’s change in the route was unauthorised.
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