Owners blame captain for cruise ship disaster off Italy

2012-01-17 06:21:06 GMT+7 (ICT)

GIGLIO, ITALY (BNO NEWS) -- Costa Cruises, the owner of the cruise ship which ran aground and partially capsized off the Italian coast on late Friday evening, said Monday that the captain may have been responsible for the deadly accident.

The Costa Concordia ran aground and partially capsized off Isola del Giglio, a small island off the coast of Tuscany, on late Friday evening while it was carrying more than 4,200 people. As of Monday evening, six bodies have been recovered while 4 crewmen and 25 passengers remain unaccounted for.

"We are working with investigators to find out precisely what went wrong aboard the Costa Concordia," the owner said in a statement on early Monday morning. "While the investigation is ongoing, preliminary indications are that there may have been significant human error on the part of the ship's master, Captain Francesco Schettino, which resulted in these grave consequences."

Costa Cruises said the route of the vessel appears to have been too close to the shore, causing it to run aground and capsize. Schettino, who joined the company as a safety officer and was appointed captain in 2006, is also suspected of having not followed standard company procedures when disaster struck.

"We are aware that the lead Prosecutor has leveled serious accusations against the ship's captain," the company said, adding that it would be 'inappropriate' to comment further. The company praised crew members for acting 'bravely and swiftly', despite passenger claims that some crew members fled the ship and left passengers behind.

Schettino, who has been arrested and may face multiple charges of manslaughter and causing a disaster, initially claimed that the rocks off Giglio were not marked on his nautical charts. But prosecutors rejected these claims and said the captain should have been aware of the rocks.

The death toll rose to six on Monday after the body of a male passenger was found inside the ship. Four crewmen and 25 passengers remain unaccounted for, although some of them may have gone home without informing authorities. At least 70 people were injured.

When the accident happened on Friday, the Costa Concordia was sailing on a Mediterranean cruise from Civitavecchia in Rome with scheduled calls at Savona, Italy; Marseille, France; Barcelona, Spain; Palma de Mallorca; Cagliari and Palermo, Italy.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-01-17

A very big and costly error. My condolences to all involved in this tragedy.

It's a good thing the Captain wasn't American, or this topic would be flooded with posts.

It's a good thing the Captain wasn't American, or this topic would be flooded with posts.

Related to what ?.....why is it that in every news items/topic on TV America/Americans have to be brought into it, even when its got FA to do with them...??....are they all really that insecure....the Master in this particular case was Italian !!!!

I am not sure, but I think it's called sarcasm.

And yes, it has nothing to do with Americans--except for those that were on board the ship.