A rather pithy post from Sam Ignarski this morning in his Bow Wave newsletter which copies the remarks of John Guy the well known marine surveyor and maritime writer and adds more weight to Antonio’s original thread:-
“Captain Calamity”
John Guy from time to time has been known to take a vinegary
view of things and his judgment on Captain Schettino in his
latest blog is scathing:;-
Criminalising seafarers for making mistakes is wrong. But
sixteen years for Captain Schettino is wrong too. He should
have got more. He didn’t make an honest error of judgement.
He deliberately sailed the Costa Concordia dangerously close
to the island of Giglio, just to show off. Thirty-two people
died, many of whom would have been saved if he had handled
the subsequent evacuation of the ship properly. He deserves
the long jail sentence handed down last week in Italy.
He is not just a dangerous idiot, he seems blind to what he
did and didn’t do. Which is a pity, because part of his
defence was that his employers, Costa Cruises, encouraged
this sort of dangerous sail-past. In fact, in the trial,
that was admitted. They had previously encouraged just such
an idiotic manoeuvre. Schettino’s antics and demeanour have
allowed that fact to get quietly lost in Italy’s byzantine
legal system. So he gets jail while his employers get away
with a paltry fine and a slap on the wrist. In a just world
his main board directors would be looking at keeping him
company in jail.
To get a flavour of the idiot he is check out these quotes:-
It’s not over yet. There is more greed and bare-faced lying to come.
Schettino will stay free while he appeals, and then appeals again.
The people of Giglio got rich, the salvors and Italian companies
made a packet from the biggest and most complex, and most unnecessary,
wreck removal ever, and Italian companies are benefitting from the
dismantling and building of a replacement ship. Only the families
of the dead and the insurers have suffered so far. Schettino will
suffer, but not soon enough or long enough, and to Italy’s shame,
he will suffer alone.
mailto:johnguybooks@gmail.com