Radio transcript between Coast Guard and cruise ship captain

[pqr]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16599655

[Trish]

How about this one:

 

Ship Disaster Resulted From Facebook Stunt

[MSNative]

Wow. Both are disturbing.

[Mrs Mungo]

I think that Captain is done for.

[Alte Veste Academy]

I think that Captain is done for.

 

Yes, as he should be. What a coward. In a lifeboat with passengers still in peril and on board. :mad:

[Mrs Mungo]

Yes, as he should be. What a coward. In a lifeboat with passengers still in peril and on board. :mad:

 

It is infuriating. It is truly shocking that he would perform such a stunt and risk people's lives that way.

[Word Nerd]

It just gets worse and worse. Those poor people.

[LibraryLover]

That's all crazy. That's one for The Tipping Point.

 

How sad.

[tex-mex]

So sad and infuriating at the same time. That captain is going to prison and I suspect a class action lawsuit against the company (I heard it was Carnival Lines that owned the ill-fated liner?) is forthcoming.

[tex-mex]

It is infuriating. It is truly shocking that he would perform such a stunt and risk people's lives that way.

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

[Xuzi]

What's ridiculous is that he keeps blaming "uncharted rocks" when he was WAAAAAAY off the prescribed charted route! I mean, c'mon, perhaps the rocks weren't on the chart because the boat wasn't supposed to be there either!!!

[PinkInTheBlue]

It is awful. The whole thing is so terrible. With all the technology on a ship like that now I would have thought something like this would be impossible without intent.

 

However, on the Facebook posts, I don't read anything extraordinary on them. The only way they sound bad is if you tell me to look for something not actually said. The posts just say he'll be passing by. The posts never indicated it was anything extraordinary. You know? I'd post the same thing if a family member were going to be coming by.

[nono]

The "captain" practically flopped the vessel onto the island! I wouldn't have been where he was in a Sunfish without the daggerboard up. He clearly wasn't using his brain. And for what? People are dead...a beautiful ship that so many worked to make is gone...personal effects are gone...

 

Such a waste, when none of it needed to happen. That's what's so horrifying!

 

As for the "uncharted rocks" claim, maybe it works differently in the Mediterranean, but stuff over here is known to move. And, take one look at that island and ask yourself, "Do you think there's more of that just under the waterline?"

 

He should be renamed Captain Chucklehead before he's put to rest.

[Halcyon]

What a tragedy for everyone involved.

[happyhomemaker25]

Dh read somewhere that Carnival Cruise lines said that it had to be manually overridden to come that close to the island.

[LibraryLover]

I have to hope that FB report is bunk.

 

It easy for a 24/7 news cycle to turn innocent commentary into something it is not. Remember-- we are classical homeschoolers. We read, we think, we discern.

 

It is awful. The whole thing is so terrible. With all the technology on a ship like that now I would have thought something like this would be impossible without intent.

 

However, on the Facebook posts, I don't read anything extraordinary on them. The only way they sound bad is if you tell me to look for something not actually said. The posts just say he'll be passing by. The posts never indicated it was anything extraordinary. You know? I'd post the same thing if a family member were going to be coming by.

Edited January 18, 2012 by LibraryLover

[JFSinIL]

I think that Captain is done for.

 

I certainly hope so!

[Trish]

It is awful. The whole thing is so terrible. With all the technology on a ship like that now I would have thought something like this would be impossible without intent.

 

However, on the Facebook posts, I don't read anything extraordinary on them. The only way they sound bad is if you tell me to look for something not actually said. The posts just say he'll be passing by. The posts never indicated it was anything extraordinary. You know? I'd post the same thing if a family member were going to be coming by.

 

The ship sails that route every week. How would she know the ship was going to pass very close by if she hadn't heard it from someone (presumably her brother, the headwaiter?)

[Trish]

WTM discerners, discern THIS:

(Captain's explanation on how he ended up in the lifeboats while many other passengers were still fighting to get off the ship)

 

"Suddenly, since the ship was at a 60-70° angle, I tripped and I ended up in one of the boats," Schettino said,

according to

The Guardian

. "That's how I found myself in the lifeboat."

 

Convenient landing or convenient excuse?

 

The Telegraph

reports that during a

three-hour interrogation

, the captain admitted steering the ship off-course to salute a colleague: "It’s true that the salute was for Commodore Mario Palombo, with whom I was on the telephone," Schettino

reportedly said

.

Concordia Captain Explains How He Abandoned Ship Ahead of the Passengers

 

I tripped! The dog ate my navigational charts!

 

Yes, I think homeschoolers are DEFINITELY well-qualified to discern this level of excuse-making!

[LibraryLover]

That is despicable. I was hoping it it wasn't true.

 

 

 

WTM discerners, discern THIS:

(Captain's explanation on how he ended up in the lifeboats while many other passengers were still fighting to get off the ship)

 

 

 

"Suddenly, since the ship was at a 60-70° angle, I tripped and I ended up in one of the boats," Schettino said,

according to

The Guardian

. "That's how I found myself in the lifeboat."

 

 

 

Convenient landing or convenient excuse?

 

 

 

The Telegraph

reports that during a

three-hour interrogation

, the captain admitted steering the ship off-course to salute a colleague: "It’s true that the salute was for Commodore Mario Palombo, with whom I was on the telephone," Schettino

reportedly said

.

 

Concordia Captain Explains How He Abandoned Ship Ahead of the Passengers

 

I tripped! The dog ate my navigational charts!

 

Yes, I think homeschoolers are DEFINITELY well-qualified to discern this level of excuse-making!

Edited January 18, 2012 by LibraryLover

[TravelingChris]

It is unbelievable. The whole thing. The Coast Guard Captain has become an Italian hero, apparently. He doesn't think he is. He was just trying to do his job. Apparently, there are t-shirts being made of what the CG Captain said - Basically it is Get the F Back on Board.

 

And now with this idiotic excuse of a man claiming he just tripped and fell into the life boat. I guess his second in command did too? And the blanket that was covering him up??according to a French military officer and her police officer husband. ANd he didn't go back on board because it was dark?????

[luvnlattes]

What a coward. In a lifeboat with passengers still in peril and on board. :mad:

 

:iagree:

[Iucounu]

WTM discerners, discern THIS:

Nick Squires of the Telegraph is not the most reliable source I've seen, or, um, discerned. :)

[LibraryLover]

Nick Squires of the Telegraph is not the most reliable source I've seen, or, um, discerned. :)

 

I've considered the source, believe me. So is the report a lie? Were transcripts leaked or were they made up? I'm trying to figure this out. He's a jerk of a captain and human being, but did he do it because of FB? What's next, fly a plane close to a tower for a friend's status update?

[Nakia]

WTM discerners, discern THIS:

(Captain's explanation on how he ended up in the lifeboats while many other passengers were still fighting to get off the ship)

"Suddenly, since the ship was at a 60-70° angle, I tripped and I ended up in one of the boats," Schettino said,

according to

The Guardian

. "That's how I found myself in the lifeboat."

 

Convenient landing or convenient excuse?

 

The Telegraph

reports that during a

three-hour interrogation

, the captain admitted steering the ship off-course to salute a colleague: "It’s true that the salute was for Commodore Mario Palombo, with whom I was on the telephone," Schettino

reportedly said

.

Concordia Captain Explains How He Abandoned Ship Ahead of the Passengers

 

I tripped! The dog ate my navigational charts!

 

Yes, I think homeschoolers are DEFINITELY well-qualified to discern this level of excuse-making!

 

That is repulsive.

[Iucounu]

It's certainly disturbing, no matter what. I can't see how he can have been acting reasonably. And unless the transcript is a wholesale fabrication, he's a dirty stinking coward on top of whatever negligence he may have committed.

[Trish]

Nick Squires of the Telegraph is not the most reliable source I've seen, or, um, discerned. :)

 

Here is a similar report from Tom Kingston reporting from Rome:

 

 

 

The cruise liner captain accused of abandoning ship after he struck rocks off the Tuscan coast last Friday has reportedly claimed he could not lead the evacuation because he slipped and tripped into a lifeboat while helping passengers leave the stricken vessel.

 

 

 

Captain Francesco

Schettino

said it was an accident that he left the Costa

Concordia

, according to Italian press reports.

The Guardian

 

There was the same discussion of how he veered close to the island in order to salute someone he knew. (which apparently the headwaiter knew about ahead of time, or else he has a telepathic sister)

 

So do we like tripping, or are we voting for pixie dust transported him to the lifeboats? I guess we'll have to wait and see!

[happyhomemaker25]

And why couldn't he get back on the boat when the CG told him to?

"Um.. well, I was.. I was climbing the ladder to get back on the boat and passengers kept knocking me off." ??

Moron.

[Spy Car]

I've considered the source, believe me. So is the report a lie? Were transcripts leaked or were they made up? I'm trying to figure this out. He's a jerk of a captain and human being, but did he do it because of FB? What's next, fly a plane close to a tower for a friend's status update?

 

NPR played the transmissions on the air yesterday, with vocal reenactments. I was agog at the actions of the captain.

 

If there is justice he will go away for a very (very) long time.

 

Bill

[gardenmom5]

So sad and infuriating at the same time. That captain is going to prison and I suspect a class action lawsuit against the company (I heard it was Carnival Lines that owned the ill-fated liner?) is forthcoming.

Carnival is the parent company - and their insurance probably will not pay for this.

 

reports I've read, the class action suit has already started by gathering a group of 30 survivors. I'm sure it will grow.

 

What's ridiculous is that he keeps blaming "uncharted rocks" when he was WAAAAAAY off the prescribed charted route! I mean, c'mon, perhaps the rocks weren't on the chart because the boat wasn't supposed to be there either!!!

the course is entered into the navigational computer, and in order to not set off alarms when deviating from it, must be manually overridden.

rocks move - but I've seen a chart (scroll down) of where they hit the rocks (he headed for the port after the collision - not where the ship came to rest). only someone PHENOMENALLY stupid (or collossally arrogant) would have taken a ship through that narrow - and SHALLOW - channel. besides, the seafloor is not static. water moves, and can even cause boulders to shift.

 

eta: according to the course charts - they should have gone south of the island. . . .

 

It is awful. The whole thing is so terrible. With all the technology on a ship like that now I would have thought something like this would be impossible without intent.

it just about is. he had to have overridden his naviagation computer so the alarms wouldn't go off when he deviated from his pre-set course by up to FOUR miles.

 

As for the "uncharted rocks" claim, maybe it works differently in the Mediterranean, but stuff over here is known to move. And, take one look at that island and ask yourself, "Do you think there's more of that just under the waterline?"

 

He should be renamed Captain Chucklehead before he's put to rest.

 

I've read reports out of the UK. supposedly 12 - 15 years for manslaughter. that's not enough. first it's everyone who died, then the mental and financial trauma to the survivors and families of the deceased, then the financial damage to the ship's employees and owners (insurance probably won't pay for it) . . . .

Edited January 18, 2012 by gardenmom5

[bettyandbob]

Dh thinks the captain was drunk.

 

It's awful. It reminds of the accident off South Africa's coast where the cruise ship captain insisted on being first off. If I recall correctly, lifeboats couldn't be used on that one and the captain was in the first helicopter. I don't think anyone died on that ship though. I think that was 15 years ago.

 

I'd like to go on a cruise,but how do you know if you are going to get some coward in charge?

[TravelingChris]

A name I heard for him was Captain Tuna- chicken of the sea.

 

Over here, he would be getting the manslaughter charge times how many people died. Do they not do that there? So you get 10-15 years if you by your negligence kill one or as may very well turn out to be, kill 35? (There are officially 11 dead so far and 24 still missing, and the thinking is that the rest of the missing are dead and not found so far,)

 

This just keeps getting worse. It was bad enough when it was known soon enough after the incident that he went off course. Then that he left the ship while there was an evacuation still to be completed. Then that he refused a Coast Guard order to return. And now that he has an extremely lame excuse. Meantime we wait for the rescuers/recoverers to come up with more of the dead. It is truly pathetic.

[Trish]

I've considered the source, believe me. So is the report a lie? Were transcripts leaked or were they made up? I'm trying to figure this out. He's a jerk of a captain and human being, but did he do it because of FB? What's next, fly a plane close to a tower for a friend's status update?

 

From what I can gather he did it kind of as a showoff stunt, and to salute a friend of his who was on the island. He also tipped off the headwaiter, who has family on the island, and invited the headwaiter to the bridge to 'wave' to his family members. The Facebook part comes in because apparently the headwaiter told his sister they'd be doing a close sail-by (which is not the norm) and she posted that fact to Facebook before the ship even hit the rock.

 

I'm certainly not blaming Facebook for the accident, it just happened to record the fact that this was definitely a pre-planned and discussed event, not some sort of navigational error. The same could have happened if she were talking on the telephone and told people to "watch for the ship to come by really close" -- but then the report would be all "hearsay" (you can see how people are questioning if these news accounts can possibly be accurate, etc.) So the Facebook post puts that to rest, it was out there for people to see, and before the accident happened.

 

I read on another site that this is not the first time the captain has veered off course in a showboating maneuver. That wouldn't surprise me, if he got away with it before he's more likely to do it again. Although I do wonder if the cruise line instruments would have recorded that, and that he would've been reprimanded before now.

 

So sad, all the way around. It's like this man is a caricature of a Horrible Captain, only he exists for real!

[Audrey]

NPR played the transmissions on the air yesterday, with vocal reenactments. I was agog at the actions of the captain.

 

If there is justice he will go away for a very (very) long time.

 

Bill

 

Heard it on CBC myself, in Italian, and then with 2 translators. It was very disturbing. Has he no shame? :sneaky2:

[aggieamy]

I sure hope he gets a hanging judge at the trial. What scum!

[Spy Car]

Heard it on CBC myself, in Italian, and then with 2 translators. It was very disturbing. Has he no shame? :sneaky2:

 

Aparently not.

 

Bill

[Tap]

In an incident that occurs at sea, where would he be tried?

[brehon]

In an incident that occurs at sea, where would he be tried?

 

Isn't it dependant on in whose territorial waters the wreck occurs? I don't think this happened in international waters. If you're asking about an accident that occurs in international waters, I have no idea. Isn't there some sort of international maritime tribunal or something? Or would the trial take place in the home country of the captain?

[Iucounu]

He's not all bad. He did fight to get in position under the rope ladder despite the presence of another boat, and to climb back up there despite the waves of onrushing passengers. :angry:

[Tap]

I think that Captain is done for.

 

I doubt he will see the light of day again as a free man.

 

Adding together the manslaughter, abandoning ship, causing the environmental catastrophe in a santuary, and anything else they can come up with....yeah, I think he is done for. I would guess he is on suicide watch.

[TravelingChris]

He will be tried in Italy. It was in Italian waters, I would think since it was so close to an Italian island. According to a non Wikipedia website I just checked, Costa Cruise lines have their ships under the Italian flag anyway.

[SKL]

I just got off a Carnival cruise on January 8. My five-year-olds were with me. I just don't know what to say to this jerk. He refused to go up there and tell the Coast Guard whether there were any children needing to be rescued? How does someone with such a severe lack of conscience as well as judgment get into the position of captain of a ship carrying 4,000 people? I am sorry that the company will be hurt by this, but only if I don't find out they had some indication of this man's character or have seen him go off course for idiot reasons before.

 

One thing I'm glad of is that pretty much nobody is trying to cut this guy some slack. He is the lowest of the low by all measures.

[Joker]

I doubt he will see the light of day again as a free man.

 

Adding together the manslaughter, abandoning ship, causing the environmental catastrophe in a santuary, and anything else they can come up with....yeah, I think he is done for. I would guess he is on suicide watch.

 

 

I thought I read he was released under house arrest. So, I don't think he's even in jail anymore.

[Spy Car]

I thought I read he was released under house arrest. So, I don't think he's even in jail anymore.

 

That is the news report I head last night.

 

Bill

[Cinder]

Dh thinks the captain was drunk.

 

This also crossed my mind when I read the transcript linked in the OP. I had to re-read it a couple of times--the captain appeared not to be in his right mind.

[Veritaserum]

This man was not only reckless; he lacks honor as well. What kind of captain abandons his sinking ship with passengers and crew still on board? Shouldn't he be the last one off after making sure rescue operations are carried out? Coward! :glare:

 

I'm also really confused how this ship left its home port without doing the safety drill. I thought that was standard for cruises. When I went on a Mediterranean cruise in May, we did not leave our home port until everyone on board had been accounted for during an evacuation drill. The crew emphasized as we boarded that it was mandatory to attend and that we would not leave until everyone had participated. If our ship had run into trouble, I feel confident that an evacuation would have gone reasonably smoothly.

 

This incident.... Badly done on so many levels. :angry:

[Laura Corin]

It's certainly disturbing, no matter what. I can't see how he can have been acting reasonably. And unless the transcript is a wholesale fabrication, he's a dirty stinking coward on top of whatever negligence he may have committed.

 

I'm not an Italian speaker, but the Italian was clearly audible, and it's unlikely that the BBC would try to get away with a wildly incorrect translation.

 

Laura

[KidsHappen]

I saw the televised part where the CG is telling him to get back on his ship and even though I do not speak Italian the man sounded drunk or high to me. Either that or he was in shock but he was clearly not coherent at the time.

 

My father was both Navy and CG and my hubby was Navy. A captian that abandoned his ship in those circumstances would probably not have lived long enough to see a court martial or criminal court in this case. I am not saying that is official military policy nor am I condoning it but I am saying that this is probably the worst thing the captian of a ship could do and it would not be tolorated by the crew. Generally speaking the second in command would have relieved him of his duties (at gun point if necessary) but since the second in command was also a coward I do not know who the duty would have fell to.

 

My father has had the unpleasant task of pulling the deceased from the waters and trust me, that stays with you forever. We were stationed in St. Petersburg when the ship ran into the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. There were many casualties and my father was very disturbed for a long time. My hubby has also had to deal with casualties at sea due to true accidents. Neither have ever had to deal with an incompetant captian causing an tragedy of this magnitude but I just can't imagine that such a captian would have made landfall before the ship was cleared.

[pqr]

Reading the bit about "men" pushing aside women and children to get to the lifeboats and the captain abandoning his charges made me remember Her Majesty's Troopship BIRKENHEAD which went down 160 years ago.

 

It is to this ship that the famous line "Birkenhead Drill refers.

 

Under command of Captain Robert Salmond, the Birkenhead took troops to fight in the Frontier War in South Africa.

In the late afternoon of 25 February, the Birkenhead steamed out of Simon's Bay near Cape Town, with about 643 men, women and children on board. Captain Salmond was given orders to use all possible haste to get to his destination. In order to speed up the trip he decided to hug the South African coastline as closely as possible.

It was the early hours of February 26, when just before 2a.m. the vessel suddenly struck an uncharted rock with such force that it sliced into the hull.

Lieutenant-Colonel Seton of the 74th Foot took charge of all military personnel and immediately summoned his officers around him and stressed the importance of maintaining order and discipline.

Eventually two cutters and a gig were launched and the women and children were rowed away from the wreck to safety. The horses were cut loose and thrown overboard. Only then did Captain Salmond shout to the men that everyone who could swim must save himself by jumping into the sea and making for the boats.

The soldier's commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Seton, knew to rush the lifeboats might mean that the boats would be swamped and this would further endanger the lives of the women and children already aboard the boats. He drew his sword and ordered his men to stand fast. The soldiers did not budge even as the ship split in two and the main mast crashed on to the deck. They stood at attention while the ship went down and thereby enabled the women and children to survive.

 

 

It is from this that Kipling's famous lines come.

 

 

To take your chance in the thick of a rush, with firing all about,

Is nothing so bad when you've cover to 'and, an' leave an' likin' to shout;

But to stand an' be still to the Birken'ead drill

is a dam* tough bullet to chew,

An' they done it, the Jollies -- 'Er Majesty's Jollies --

soldier an' sailor too!

Their work was done when it 'adn't begun; they was younger nor me an' you;

Their choice it was plain between drownin' in 'eaps

an' bein' mopped by the screw,

So they stood an' was still to the Birken'ead drill, soldier an' sailor too!

Edited January 19, 2012 by pqr

[Tap]

 

 

Non-graphic