Costa Concordia SINKING

[cruiselover57]

Costa Concordia: Captain Francesco Schettino's home town comes out to support him

Inhabitants of Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino's picturesque home town became his most vociferous supporters on Wednesday as he returned to their midst under house arrest.

 

 

By Victoria Ward, Meta di Sorrento4:55PM GMT 18 Jan 2012 9 Comments

 

With the embattled Costa Concordia captain ensconced in his third floor apartment, local residents of Meta di Sorrento took it upon themselves to mount a staunch defence of their friend and neighbour.

Members of the tight knit community refused to accept that he was responsible for the tragedy that has claimed at least 11 lives, insisting that he had been unfairly vilified.

As the search operation for the 24 passengers and crew still missing was suspended, local politicians, old family friends and the local vicar rallied round to describe Mr Schettino as a "great man and a great sailor" who had done no wrong.

Giuseppe Tito, a politician from the local Mayor's office, said he had done his duty in helping others. "The captain is a hero," he said. "The media have got it all wrong. He saved 4,000 lives."

Don Gennaro Starita, a pastor who has been based in the town on the sun-drenched Amalfi Coast for 25 years, told parishioners that he was "really angry" about the way Schettino had been portrayed.

 

"He has been pilloried by the media," he said. "Humanly speaking, they have killed him. It's a shame. There are so many dead already, why do we want another?"

Mr Schettino was released from custody on Tuesday night and placed under house arrest. He was driven 450 miles from Grosseto jail to Meta with a police escort and bundled into the £175,000 home he shares with his wife, Fabiola and 15-year-old daughter Rossella, in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The steep, winding cobbled streets have since become crowded with police officers and camera crews jostling for a glimpse of the man dubbed "Captain Coward" by furious Italians.

The family is well-known and equally well respected in Meta, where Schettino's father Luigi moved at an early age.

The captain and his brother, Salvatore, grew up looking out to sea and both chose to follow careers as seafarers.

Many local residents acknowledged that Schettino, 52, may have made a mistake in sailing too close to the shore but claimed that he alone could not be held responsible for the disaster and that he had been made a scapegoat.

One, who did not wish to be identified, said: "Anyone who knows Franco knows that he is a great, great sailor, a great commander and a loyal employee. He is a professional man and would never knowingly have put the lives of his passengers in danger."

Another said: "He is a very good person, I have known him and his family for generations and they are highly respected mariners. It is easy to condemn him amid this wave of emotion but he is a person whom we all respect. It is a difficult time for the whole community."

Franco Amato, a captain who worked with Schettino at ferry company Tirrenia, said: "We grew up together and everyone in the village realised how good he was. He was the best among all of us and has had a wonderful career. He has been shaken by this tragedy."

Clara di Falco, a retired teacher and close friend of the family, said: "I feel for him but there are many victims of this tragedy and I am sure their families believe he should be in jail rather than enjoying the comforts of home."

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9023199/Costa-Concordia-Captain-Francesco-Schettinos-home-town-comes-out-to-support-him.html

 

While there's so much talk about the captain being well-respected in his home town, being a martyr for all the people who actually lived, it's the lying of his whereabouts that people are having issues with - why as a captain did he suddenly abandon his own ship and not take responsibility for it? I don't think I've heard him personally say on the news that he made a mistake, had poor judgment, etc. - or anything else that might be considered comforting to the families who lost family members and others who are unaccounted for. He was even seen in a lifeboat making a getaway to shore - how can he possibly say he was on the ship when people saw him leaving? Unbelievable! I'm sure there will be talk about this one for a very long time and knowing Costa's reputation about another incident over 3 years ago, doesn't set well with me at all!

[BalconyBumz]

Regarding that article from the Captain's home town: I see their point and while probably, maybe he possibly could be a decent man, the fact remains that it seems he screwed up bad and ran. I think that if he owned up to his huge error and had stayed and helped everyone, I think the outcome still might have been the same in consequences for him (maybe a tad better), but the hate and anger wouldn't be quite as horrendous from the people.

[Enigm@]

"Vada a bordo, cazzo!" I believe is the phrase; according to Reuters, roughly translated it means "Go on board damn it."

 

Haha...you've just gotta love America. :D;)

 

Here in the UK it has been roughly translated as "Get the f*** on board" or alternatively, "Get on board you ****!" (Insert here a slang term for a male part of the anatomy.)

 

Sorry for the post, I just tripped and fell in here!!!

 

Let me be the first to offer you a dry pair of socks.:p

[umieesa]

He is a professional man and would never knowingly have put the lives of his passengers in danger."

 

While I don't doubt the fact he intended to hit the rock and kill people, effectively, this is what happened due to his bad judgement/arrogance/ whatever it is that caused him to get too close to Giglio. Yes, he should not be solely to blame since it seems that even none of the officers were seen anywhere trying to help people, but as the captain isn't his responsibility to make sure everyone is accounted for before leaving the ship?!

 

It's really appalling :eek:

[astrocruises]

Maybe even the phrase could become a basis for on board clubs dedicated to sea causes, we all care about accidents and want our hobby to have meaning.

 

A literal translation of the phrase drops the dreaded f-bomb, something like "Get the f*** back on board."

[Lou33]

This video shows how confusing it must have been for passengers. They see water pouring down the stairway from the deck above, but they are told (in Italian) to go to a lower deck first because that's the only way to get to the top:

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLprhod8ekw

 

New video from divers:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkWPeThFhTU

 

[Cuizer2]

Question for those of you more familiar with the insurance angle. I've see it mentioned that Carnival/Costa has 'self-insured' for some things. What does that even mean? Isn't that like saying it's not insured at all?

 

If I say I 'self insure' my car then what I'm saying is that if I get into an accident, I'm personally responsible for whatever injury and/or damage I may cause to persons or property and that my checking/savings account is in for a rude awakening.

 

ISOLA DEL GIGLIO, Italy—The cruise liner that ran aground off the Tuscan coast of Italy on Friday has insurance retentions for hull and liability losses, and insurance placed in the international markets.The Costa Concordia ran aground near the island of Giglio on Friday with about 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew aboard.Six people are known to have died, and 16 are missing.

 

Insurance coverages

 

In a statement, Miami-based Carnival Corp. & P.L.C., the parent company of Costa Cruises Group, which operated the vessel, said it had insurance coverage for damage to the ship above a retention of $30 million and third-party personal liability coverage above a retention of $10 million. The company said it was self-insured for loss of use of the vessel which is expected to be out of service until at least Nov. 30 if not longer.The London-based Standard P&I Club confirmed Monday that it is the lead protection and indemnity insurer for the cruise ship. Trieste, Italy-based Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A., Hanover, Germany-based Hannover Reinsurance Co., London-based RSA Insurance Group P.L.C. and XL Group P.L.C. are among the ship's insurers, sources said, and some of the coverage is placed at Lloyd's of London.RSA's exposure is likely to be in the single-digit millions, according to a source.Aon Corp. is the broker for the ship's coverage, sources said. A spokeswoman for Aon declined to comment.Carnival Corp. is listed in New York and London.

 

Incident under investigation

 

The 114,500-tonne Costa Concordia had recently departed for a seven-day Mediterranean cruise when it hit a rock at about 10 p.m. Central European Time and began to list severely. In a statement, Carnival Corp. said it was “working to fully understand the cause of what occurred.”The captain of the ship is being questioned by Italian prosecutors.

[Thoie]

This video shows how confusing it must have been for passengers. They see water pouring down the stairway from the deck above, but they are told (in Italian) to go to a lower deck first because that's the only way to get to the top:

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLprhod8ekw

 

 

The first one was already shown to be a video of swimming pool overflowing on another ship, and the second one is a video of Dundrum shopping centre (in Dublin, Ireland) flooding last year when a river burst its banks.

[Cuizer2]

Question for those of you more familiar with the insurance angle. I've see it mentioned that Carnival/Costa has 'self-insured' for some things. What does that even mean? Isn't that like saying it's not insured at all?

 

If I say I 'self insure' my car then what I'm saying is that if I get into an accident, I'm personally responsible for whatever injury and/or damage I may cause to persons or property and that my checking/savings account is in for a rude awakening.

 

Self-insured can mean a many different things. You can self insure for small losses, or you can self-insure up to a certain amount (which is what Carnival has done - see the prior post), or you can be totally self-insured, which yes, means that you do not have insurance.

 

If you have comp and/or collision on your car, most likely you are self-insured for small losses - better known as your deductible.

 

If you are a big corporation or very rich, you can be self-insured up to a certain amount. In other words you by excess insurance that does not payout unless a loss exceeds a certain threshold, such as $1,000,000. You pay all losses up to $1,000,000, the excess carrier pays the rest (up to policy limits). Sometimes there is an annual aggregate. For example you pay all losses under $1,000,000 until you have paid a total of $2,000,000 for the year. Then the excess carrier pays all losses even if small.

 

Many companies are big enough that they can afford to be totally self-insured. Many governments are totally self-insured (by government, I mean federal, state, city or county). I worked for Hertz for four years. Hertz owned 35,000 - 40,000 automobiles. Hertz has more assets than many insurance companies. Hertz self insured. Look at it this way, if Hertz paid $1,000 per policy for 40,000 cars, that works out to $40 million. With that big of a risk Hertz is bigger than some insurance companies (many insurance companies have less than half that number of policies in force). Thus it made sense for Hertz to self-insure.

[Leadft]

Can I just say it pisses me off that the captain is on house arrest. He's eating homemade meals and sleeping in his own bed and spending time with his family. Meanwhile, because of his reckless actions, more than 30 people are dead.

 

That is just so wrong. He should be behind bars.

[Davyjonesrugrat]

This is worst than my dog ate my homework.

Especially since I dont have a dog !!!:)

[mferris77]

Right - that article is what prompted me to ask about self-insurance, actually. Specifically this phrase:

 

" The company said it was self-insured for loss of use of the vessel which is expected to be out of service until at least Nov. 30 if not longer."

 

It seems disingenuous to call it self-insurance - it's more like a financial loss. Use of the vessel (revenue from shops & casinos, bookings, etc) was not insured (and how could you, really) so they're just not going to recoup anything from that.

[AAAAmerican]

Leadft,

 

Maam thanks. Your so very correct again.

 

When in control of any mechanical driven device the person coordinating it should have complete concentration upon this operation.

 

Any deviation makes them loose control and may cause very poor judgement.

 

As the media has reported the Master ( Captain ) of the COSTA CONCORDIA in Italian Waters, was on his cell phone talking with a person on the Island in which he crashed into some submerged rock formations that were next to the shoreline.

 

People have to think ..is the conversation worth it when they are the operator? My neighbor backed out of his drive not looking but talking in daylight.. a Ford F-600 Big Truck was going down the street with his driving lights on etc..etc.. on a clear dry day.. The young neighbor boy on his cell phone may have been texting and/or talking..and *WHACK* The windows in his vehicle imploded..

 

Was it worth it to the boy ? Anyone?:rolleyes:

 

Again, Maam thanks I hope others now see this! You may have saved some lives!;)

 

 

 

Agree. This is also what caused the train accident here in L.A. a few years back that killed 25 people. Nobody in charge of any vehicle carrying passengers should EVER talk on a cell phone!!

[Davyjonesrugrat]

Leadft,

 

Maam thanks. Your so very correct again.

 

What we need to remember is that he was on the phone after the incident and not during, therefore using the phone is not part of the cause of the actual 'hitting the foreshore' but can be said as causing the delay in Life saving action by the Captain

 

rgds

[IRL_Joanie]

This video shows the Rock(s) that Schettino hit and the ship lieing on its side a few hundred meters away!! This is not a drawing this is a video taken by a reporter from sea level.

 

You may have to pause and go back a couple of times to see it better but....

 

Joanie

[Enigm@]

Does anyone know when Schettino became the captain of the Concordia? I have searched everywhere but can only find that he became a Costa captain in 2006; it does not say which ships he captained. I ask this because I sailed on the Concordia on a similar route in 2007 and I was wondering if he was my captain. :eek:

 

I believe Concordia was launched in 2006 & he was given the Captaincy then.

 

I too have put my family's lives in his hands.:(

[Cuizer2]

Italy enthralled by ship's tale of two captains

 

http://news.yahoo.com/italy-enthralled-ships-tale-two-captains-133527443.html

 

 

One is Coast Guard Captain Gregorio De Falco, who furiously ordered the skipper of the Costa Concordia to return to his ship and oversee the rescue operations.

 

 

The other is Captain Francesco Schettino - whom newspapers have branded a coward for fleeing in the face of adversity and who is now under house arrest, accused of multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship.

[Cuizer2]

"Vada a bordo, cazzo!" I believe is the phrase; according to Reuters, roughly translated it means "Go on board damn it."

 

"Damn it" is quite a tactful translation of cazzo. It's a much... earthier expression in Italian! :p

 

LOL...just googled it. Ya...nothing close to damn it! :o

 

The Italian word De Falco used, "cazzo" in Italian, is slang for the male sexual organ but it is commonly used to emphasize something, equivalent to "Go on board, damn it."

[IRL_Joanie]

I took a snap shot of the Rock that Schettino hit from the video. The German reporter or someone from his station has it circled in red.

 

You can plainly see the rock(s) and the poor Concordia. So from seeing this, I am even more convinced HE KNEW the rock(s) were there and no way in Hades can he say these are uncharted:(

 

 

Joanie

[SomeBeach]

Self-insured can mean a many different things. You can self insure for small losses, or you can self-insure up to a certain amount (which is what Carnival has done - see the prior post), or you can be totally self-insured, which yes, means that you do not have insurance.

 

If you have comp and/or collision on your car, most likely you are self-insured for small losses - better known as your deductible.

 

If you are a big corporation or very rich, you can be self-insured up to a certain amount. In other words you by excess insurance that does not payout unless a loss exceeds a certain threshold, such as $1,000,000. You pay all losses up to $1,000,000, the excess carrier pays the rest (up to policy limits). Sometimes there is an annual aggregate. For example you pay all losses under $1,000,000 until you have paid a total of $2,000,000 for the year. Then the excess carrier pays all losses even if small.

 

Many companies are big enough that they can afford to be totally self-insured. Many governments are totally self-insured (by government, I mean federal, state, city or county). I worked for Hertz for four years. Hertz owned 35,000 - 40,000 automobiles. Hertz has more assets than many insurance companies. Hertz self insured. Look at it this way, if Hertz paid $1,000 per policy for 40,000 cars, that works out to $40 million. With that big of a risk Hertz is bigger than some insurance companies (many insurance companies have less than half that number of policies in force). Thus it made sense for Hertz to self-insure.

 

Would that be similar to an umbrella policy?

Inside Edition (hey, I only have it on because I'm waiting for Jeopardy) reported that Dion's song was playing. They showed it with video "suggesting" that it was recorded by a pax because it rolled right into the lights going out. Now the part I have trouble with on that is the waiters were doing a happy dance at the time, bouncing up and down, clapping their hands.

I am not surprised by his town standing behind him. He probably has some fine qualities in him. Unfortunately we are judged by our actions and his on that fateful night do not show that side of him.

Is he destroyed by this? Most likely yes but that can't and won't change what happened. It won't bring back those that are already known to have died and those that are still missing.

Congress (US) has already called for hearings on what to do to prevent situations like this from happening again. I'm not sure what legislation can be passed to prevent a rogue Captain from doing something stupid. We have all kinds of laws and it doesn't seem to stop any rogue action, ie: cops, teachers, priests, fill in whatever occupation you want, from doing stupid or even criminal things.

[cruiserfanfromct]

Not only that but he pulls some Evil Kneivel stunt to make HIMSELF look good while jeopardizing the safety and lives of 4,000 passengers and crew. When the gig is up he stalls and doesn't give the proper orders to evacuate while there was still time to get everyone off safely. Apparently he was on the phone worried about HIS career. Then he abandons ship while there were still elderly people and babies on board. Instead of owning up to what he did he goes to the mainland, hails a cab and asks to be taken far away and asks where to buy socks. The next day he gives an interview to the media stating that the rock wasn't suppose to be there. Give me a F.ing break! What a self-centered CYAing Cretino - Madonna Mia!

 

A captain is supposed to stay until all the passengers have been safely evacuated. You don't hear of Captain Smith of the Titanic, being catapulted into a lifeboat. No, he was last seen on the bridge of that ship as it went down. I hope that the captain of any ship I take doesn't stay high and dry while everyone else sinks! Vada a bordo, cazzo! :rolleyes:

Regarding that article from the Captain's home town: I see their point and while probably, maybe he possibly could be a decent man, the fact remains that it seems he screwed up bad and ran. I think that if he owned up to his huge error and had stayed and helped everyone, I think the outcome still might have been the same in consequences for him (maybe a tad better), but the hate and anger wouldn't be quite as horrendous from the people.

[Canadian Karebear]

Self-insured can mean a many different things. You can self insure for small losses, or you can self-insure up to a certain amount (which is what Carnival has done - see the prior post), or you can be totally self-insured, which yes, means that you do not have insurance.

 

If you have comp and/or collision on your car, most likely you are self-insured for small losses - better known as your deductible.

 

If you are a big corporation or very rich, you can be self-insured up to a certain amount. In other words you by excess insurance that does not payout unless a loss exceeds a certain threshold, such as $1,000,000. You pay all losses up to $1,000,000, the excess carrier pays the rest (up to policy limits). Sometimes there is an annual aggregate. For example you pay all losses under $1,000,000 until you have paid a total of $2,000,000 for the year. Then the excess carrier pays all losses even if small.

 

Many companies are big enough that they can afford to be totally self-insured. Many governments are totally self-insured (by government, I mean federal, state, city or county). I worked for Hertz for four years. Hertz owned 35,000 - 40,000 automobiles. Hertz has more assets than many insurance companies. Hertz self insured. Look at it this way, if Hertz paid $1,000 per policy for 40,000 cars, that works out to $40 million. With that big of a risk Hertz is bigger than some insurance companies (many insurance companies have less than half that number of policies in force). Thus it made sense for Hertz to self-insure.

 

Most of what you say is truth.

 

However, most large companies are also owned by stock holders, and they must carry some form of insurance to answer to the stockholders in the event of a loss. It's good business so no one loses their shirt if the ship goes down.

 

On the Government/City self insurance; I used to be a broker for the Municipality's association in my area, they carried insurance on everything for their Liability, but decided not to insure smaller buildings based on the lower hazards, and higher deductibles for this. They did not self insure liability 100% at all. They held a high deductible (PD/BI deductible) but in no way carried the entire risk themselves. In a catastrophic loss it would not make any sense to do this. (like a tornado).

 

I have to disagree with your statement that Hertz has more assets than many insurance companies. That may be the case in some places or with some smaller insurance companies, but in reality most larger insurers have more assets that we actually can see. They have strong investment ties with Banks and securities. They are mandated to.

 

There is an aggregate for MOST insurance companies however, with Marine Insurance there is typically no aggregate as it would be hard to cap for the losses of this size on the Liability.

There is no aggregate for property damage at all. It's up to the limits on the declaration page subject to a co insurance penalty if necessary.

 

Remember, unlike our Property and Casualty Insurance, marine insurance is a different animal altogether.

 

Unlike most coverages it is a Manuscript wording which means they put the wordings together based on what they chose to exclude or cover based on the re-insurers that are involved and what the stock holders agree to.

 

They equate self insurance with deductible in our world. Same thing.

It's important to also point out that most Marine policies are only covered by re-insurers. Lloyds of London gets them together and they each take a portion of the risk. Since the risk is so high, the limits too, are very high.

[Canadian Karebear]

Would that be similar to an umbrella policy?

 

 

 

No, marine insurance does not have Umbrella policies.

[Clar5]

MSNBC is reporting that he is now saying he fell into the water, and then somehow got into a life raft and then if I'm reading this right got yelled at by De Falco in the life raft. If he was in the water, wouldn't his cell phone pretty much be fried?

 

This is the first time I heard this story.

[wilsonqbc]

He was Captain on Atlantica, Spring 2010, I actually met him.

He was a very nice person, when I had met him.

:confused: