Costa-Concordia

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.telegraph....med-for-disaster.html

The Captain has been arrested on charges of manslaughter, the chairman of Costa Cruises said the officer was solely to blame for the tragedy, and the media have added their speculations.

Is there not going to be an international maritime inquiry into this tragic disaster, and if there is, couldn't all these prior accusations have an effect on the outcome of the inquiry?

[Ann]

I thought that AOG - if it wasn't his fault the poor man doesn't stand a chance. If it was his fault according to the speculation, then he should be punished.

[jomifl]

Why should they have an effect? The evidence is quite conclusive, there are hundreds of witnesses. The skipper dunnit, sorted.

[daisya]

Well apparently the shipping company have distanced themselves from the actions the captain took because they say he was on the wrong course without their say so.

[grasscarp]

The Captain decided to do the previously done show off of passing close to Gilio and hit rocks. He was observed dining with a "beautiful lady" when the accident happened. He then abandoned ship before most passengers. He was ordered to return to the ship and refused. Of course the media is reporting all this as it is a major news story. No chance at all that any mention of him will be supressed to ensure it does not affect an inquiry. The facts speak for themselves.

[anotheoldgit]

jomifl

/// Why should they have an effect? The evidence is quite conclusive, there are hundreds of witnesses. The skipper dunnit, sorted. ///

Sounds very much like lynch mob justice to me.

Good job it still stands that a person is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

[grasscarp]

Of course anotheoldgit. He is being hounded. Very good idea to go 4 miles off course. Why bother to stay with the ship when it runs aground. Raid the safe and abandon ship. Asked to return to assist evacuation - refused..... Give the poor guy a break.

[anotheoldgit]

grasscarp

You seem very well informed on this matter, were you on board, on the island, privileged to some inside information or just repeating what you have heard from the media?

/// The Captain decided to do the previously done show off of passing close to Gilio and hit rocks.///

Whether it was just showing off as you say, or just repeating a courtesy action that had taken place many times, without incident we do not know.

Why did the ship hit the rocks, where they shown on the charts, or was there something wrong with the navigation equipment? Once again we do not know.

/// He was observed dining with a "beautiful lady" when the accident happened. ///

Whether she was ugly or beautiful why should that have any bearing on the accident? A witness who was an entertainment dancer and also in the dinning room at that time, stated that the Captain was dining with a man who appeared to be a senior member of the owners of the vessel, and who was not wearing a uniform but had some form of badge on his dress.

/// He then abandoned ship before most passengers. He was ordered to return to the ship and refused. ///

Once again media hearsay, it has also been reported that he did return to the ship, and taking into consideration that it was during the hours of darkness, the huge size of the ship, the vast number of passengers and the fact that it had begun to list to one side, who would know if everyone had left the ship?

So what you class as facts are not really facts at all, and will not become so until they have been proven in a court of law.

In mitigation, if the Captain hadn't swung the ship around to be closer to land this tragedy would have been very much worse.

[youngmafbog]

//Observed aboanding ship before the passengers are off//

Are you surprised, he is Italian and from WWII we all know what they are like, tanks with 1 fwd and 5 reverse.

To answer your question, no it wont affect the trial. Whilst I appreciate your innicent until proven guilty there are so many witnesses it is a foregone conclusion. If he has any sense he will put his hands up (shouldn't be a problem for him) and admit it (perhaps more of a proble)

Failing that he could get his Mafia mates to nobble the jury.

[maggiebee]

youngmafbog - bit harsh. Can't tar a whole nation with the same brush. By the way what do the words "innicent" and "proble" mean?

[Gromit]

As this 'accident' occurred in Italian waters, it is up to the Italian Authorities to investigate. There are manslaughter charges, so a criminal investigation has been proceeded first. However, that does not mean a seperate investigation into wider safety and design and operation of the ship will not also commence.

As in any investigation, proveable facts will be accepted and heresay rejected. At the moment the Captain is the main centre of investigation, but that does not automatically mean he will be found guilty.

If the reports are to be believed, he said the ship hit rocks which were not on any charts. That should be quite easy to prove one way or the other. If he is correct, then the whole disaster is not his fault. He may a broken a few rules, but they might not have in themselves led to the loss of the ship. If the rocks are on charts, then he is probably guilty of recklessly sailing too near them.

[Davethedog]

The ship was one of the most modern in the world. It carries devices similar to the black box on planes it also records all conversation on the bridge. If the Captain is at fault you won't need witnesses.

[New Judge]

"The skipper dunnit, sorted"

Have you ever been summonsed to do jury service, jomifl? All we have so far are reports from traumatised passengers and crew, recently plucked from the freezing drink, and some statements from the ship's owners (who were not present during the catastrophe) commenting on the captain's actions.

I think a few more enquiries may be necessary before all the facts are known.

[Gromit]

Those that believe this is a solved case should remember The Herald of Free Enterprise sinking in 1987 which resulted in 193 dead.

The ferry sailed with its doors still open and water filled the ship leading to it sinking in the English Channel.

Seven individuals involved at the company were charged with gross negligence manslaughter, and the operating company, P&O European Ferries (Dover) Ltd, was charged with corporate manslaughter, but the case collapsed after Justice Turner directed the jury to acquit the company and the five most senior individual defendants.

[murraymints]

we have to wait for a proper enquiry , speculation and heresay not relevant...black box trackers will tell the truth..wouldn't be the first time the Italians threw up their hands would it ? it will l come out ...

[LoftyLottie]

You are so niaive ymb. You sound like someone who has never been out in the world.

[Ankou]

my sisters old schoolfriend was one of the 193 gromit. she was 21.

[murraymints]

I was in one of the first ferries out after...sat up in the bar all night with quite a few others !! bladdered by morning..but...alive..

[Gromit]

Ankou

Let's hope Italian justice turns out to be more conclusive than British Justice.

[SeaJayPea]

For once, I find myself agreeing with AOG. I have no way of knowing how much of what we're seeing and reading here has been reported in Italy, but let's assume it's the same. Not only will there be a maritime inquiry, there may well be a criminal case. They'll have to get a jury who haven't already formed an opinion as to his guilt or otherwise. That's likely to be very difficult now.

Sometimes the press need to be a bit restrained with their feeding frenzy. Just recently they've come unstuck over Chris Jefferies in this country. He was convicted, according to the tabloids, before he'd even been charged. They're doing the same thing to this captain.