Remember this guy?* The transcript is just amazing
From TheStreet, January 24:
Costa captain who capsized Concordia asks for prison release
The former captain of the Carnival-owned brand wants to be released halfway through his 16-year sentence.
The captain goes down with their ship.
That's a maritime tradition that means that when something goes wrong at sea, the captain stays at their post until as many people as possible get saved. When Costa Concordia Captain Francesco Schettino's ship capsized, however, that's not what happened.
"As they sailed close to the island and the cruise ship sounded its horn, it struck an underwater rock outcropping that fatally ruptured the hull and flooded the electrical controls rendering the ship immediately powerless and drifting. There were 3,200 passengers aboard and over 1,000 crew. A total of 32 people would die as the vessel foundered and during a botched evacuation," Maritime Executive reported.
Schettino was accused at the time of abandoning the bridge along with his officers,
He claimed that he had fallen from the bridge as the ship listed and also, at times, claimed that he was leading rescue efforts from shore....
....MUCH MORE
* We happened to catch the story of the Italian Coast Guard Captain ordering Schettino to do the job he was hired for and posted:
...When the "Costa Concordia"
got too close to shore in 2012 it hit a rock, capsized and 32 people
died. Captain Schettino fled and this transpired: Via The Guardian:
Translated transcript of the conversation between Captain Francesco Schettino of the Costa Concordia and Captain Gregorio de Falco of the Italian coastguard in Livorno
...De Falco: "Schettino? Listen Schettino. There are people trapped on board. Now you go with your boat under the prow on the starboard side. There is a pilot ladder. You will climb that ladder and go on board. You go on board and then you will tell me how many people there are. Is that clear? I'm recording this conversation, Cmdr Schettino …"That was part of a 2019 post, "Viking Cruises engine failure off Norway coast prompts rescue operation for 1,300 people on board":
Schettino: "Commander, let me tell you one thing …"
De Falco: "Speak up! Put your hand in front of the microphone and speak more loudly, is that clear?"
Schettino: "In this moment, the boat is tipping …"
De Falco: "I understand that, listen, there are people that are coming down the pilot ladder of the prow. You go up that pilot ladder, get on that ship and tell me how many people are still on board. And what they need. Is that clear? You need to tell me if there are children, women or people in need of assistance. And tell me the exact number of each of these categories. Is that clear? Listen Schettino, that you saved yourself from the sea, but I am going to … really do something bad to you … I am going to make you pay for this. Go on board, (expletive)!"
Schettino: "Commander, please …"
De Falco: "No, please. You now get up and go on board. They are telling me that on board there are still …"
Schettino: "I am here with the rescue boats, I am here, I am not going anywhere, I am here …"
De Falco: "What are you doing, commander?"
Schettino: "I am here to co-ordinate the rescue …"
De Falco: "What are you co-ordinating there? Go on board! Co-ordinate the rescue from aboard the ship. Are you refusing?"
Schettino: "No, I am not refusing."
De Falco: "Are you refusing to go aboard, commander? Can you tell me the reason why you are not going?"
Schettino: "I am not going because the other lifeboat is stopped."
De Falco: "You go aboard. It is an order. Don't make any more excuses. You have declared 'abandon ship'. Now I am in charge. You go on board! Is that clear? Do you hear me? Go, and call me when you are aboard. My air rescue crew is there."
Schettino: "Where are your rescuers?"
De Falco: "My air rescue is on the prow. Go. There are already bodies, Schettino."
Schettino: "How many bodies are there?"
De Falco: "I don't know. I have heard of one. You are the one who has to tell me how many there are. Christ!"
Schettino: "But do you realise it is dark and here we can't see anything …"
De Falco: "And so what? You want to go home, Schettino? It is dark and you want to go home? Get on that prow of the boat using the pilot ladder and tell me what can be done, how many people there are and what their needs are. Now!"...MORE
The good news is the ship is close to shore. The bad news is the ship is close to shore.
Fortunately, the ship is not captained by Schettino....
Which included the story of another ship, MTS Oceanos, and the guitarist of the ship's band, Moss Hills:
....MOSS HILLS: Still no announcements, still no officers to be seen anywhere, and we started to realize we were in charge.
NARRATOR: Moss grabbed the ship's radio.
MOSS HILLS: And I'd said, "Mayday!" And he said, "Right," well, you know, "What is your mayday?" And I said, you know, "We're the cruise ship Oceanos. We're sinking."
And he said, "Well, what rank are you?" I said, "Well I'm, I'm not actually a rank, I'm a guitarist."
And he said, "Well, what are you doing on the bridge?"
I said, "Well, there's nobody else here." And he said, "Where's the captain and the officers?" I said, "I don't know. We don't know where they are."....
Moss and the rest of the band assisted by the comedian Julian Butler, the magician and the choreographer were able to organize the shipboard part of the rescue of 571 people.
