May justice reign in the land of the Italians!...go getta rope

Maritime News Marine Incidents
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the noose draws ever tighter for our hapless Lothario

[B]Italian Prosecutors Pursue Trial for Costa Concordia Officers[/B]

By Reuters
April 15, 2013

An Italian judge began hearing a request on Monday to send the former captain of the Costa Concordia and five other ship’s officers to trial over the accident which sank the liner with the loss of 32 lives in January 2012.

Prosecutors are seeking to have the 52-year-old captain, Francesco Schettino, tried on charges including manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship.

Schettino, appeared in court in the Tuscan town of Grosseto wearing a grey suit and blue striped tie for the opening of the pre-trial hearings, which are expected to run until April 24.

If convicted, he could face 20 years in jail but his lawyer said the case should not go to trial.

“This was an accident at work. You cannot criminalise a man because he had an accident while working,” Francesco Pepe told reporters during a break in the hearing.

Judge Pietro Molino will also consider whether five other officers should face charges ranging from manslaughter to failure to cooperate with marine authorities.

The luxury liner had just begun a Mediterranean cruise when it came too close to shore, hitting a rock that tore a gash in its hull and causing it to capsize in shallow waters just outside the port of Giglio.

Both Schettino and the ship’s owners Costa Cruises were heavily criticised over both the accident and the chaotic night-time evacuation of more than 4,000 passengers and crew. Costa paid 1 million euros ($1.31 million) to settle potential criminal charges although the payment did not affect civil lawsuits.

The other people who could face trial are bridge officers Ciro Ambrosio and Silvia Coronica, helmsman Jacob Rusli, cabin services manager Manrico Giampedroni and the fleet crisis coordinator, Roberto Ferrarini.

Separately, lawyers for the local government in Giglio said it was seeking at least 80 million euros in damages from Costa.

A lawyer for the company, a unit of the world’s largest cruise operator, Carnival Cruises, part of Carnival Corp , said it aimed to compensate parties that had suffered.

“We will not try to avoid our responsibilities to compensate those who genuinely suffered loss,” Alessandro Carella said following Monday’s hearing.

Another Costa lawyer, Marco De Luca, said the company should be allowed to seek damages for the loss of the cruise liner, a position opposed by lawyers representing victims of the crash.

“Apart from the victims, Costa is the one that suffered the most damage. We lost a 500 million-euro ($655-million) ship,” De Luca told the court.

Schettino was held up to ridicule after investigators of the accident said he brought the 290-metre-long (951-ft) Concordia too close to shore in a manoeuvre meant to “salute” Giglio island, and then left his ship before the evacuation was complete.

A coastguard’s telephoned order to the captain, “Get back on board, damn it!” became a catch phrase in Italy after the accident prompted a bout of national soul-searching over responsibility and leadership during times of crisis. ($1 = 0.7635 euros)

–By Silvia Ognibene; Writing by Naomi O’Leary; editing by Mark Heinrich (C) Reuters 2013.

now we need Watson in the dock! I wonder where that miserable PHAT PHUCKING PHONY PHILANDERING PHARCE is hiding his ass these days?

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Did anyone else see that thing in the news yesterday with some big-wig from AMO speaking about how American mariners always get shafted but then these euro-trash douche-bags keep getting hired even though they continually destroy ships? We’re all thinkin’ it, just glad someone finally said it!

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I hope this man never sets a foot aboard a ship again.

Fancy that, the captain and all his men “fell” in to the same lifeboat…At the same time…

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[QUOTE=PaddyWest2012;105897]Did anyone else see that thing in the news yesterday with some big-wig from AMO speaking about how American mariners always get shafted but then these euro-trash douche-bags keep getting hired even though they continually destroy ships? We’re all thinkin’ it, just glad someone finally said it![/QUOTE]

I’m just sorry it had to be said by someone from the AMO but hey as long as it was said…

the question is did anyone hear it? Me thinks not!

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Him and his Greek pals. Greek C/E kept me cooling my heels for an hour in his office yesterday then sends the wiper to tell me everyone is “too busy”

I made them sign the ticket anyway. My time is worth something pal!!!

PS. Same guy same ship twice in a row and his office is pissed, I was there to fix something.

Good thing this was local. If I had to fly to meet this Buffoon I’d lose my cool for sure.

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[QUOTE=catherder;105905]Him and his Greek pals. Greek C/E kept me cooling my heels for an hour in his office yesterday then sends the wiper to tell me everyone is “too busy”

I made them sign the ticket anyway. My time is worth something pal!!!

PS. Same guy same ship twice in a row and his office is pissed, I was there to fix something.

Good thing this was local. If I had to fly to meet this Buffoon I’d lose my cool for sure.[/QUOTE]

Those rat bastards. Some of these deep sea companies wouldn’t know a good captain or chief engineer from a plate of stuffed grape leaves, which as it happens is about all all the intellect of some of these idiots amounts to!

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What really gaffed me was that he wouldn’t spare two seconds to speak with me. His company scheduled the service. It makes me look sketchy if I leave the ship mission unaccomplished. That’s why I had him sign off and state that he declined service. He used the wiper as his errand boy.

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[QUOTE=catherder;105908]What really gaffed me was that he wouldn’t spare two seconds to speak with me. His company scheduled the service. It makes me look sketchy if I leave the ship mission unaccomplished. That’s why I had him sign off and state that he declined service. He used the wiper as his errand boy.[/QUOTE]

and these are the ass clowns who run $800M cruiseships! Fucking incredible! GOD HOW I HATE THE CRUISELINES!

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this just released

Captain of luxury Costa Concordia cruise ship to face trial over deadly wreck
By Claudio Lavanga, Correspondent, NBC News


Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino leaves after a session of the trial in the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster on April 15, 2013 in Grosseto.

ROME – He was judged guilty by public opinion after his cruise ship, the Costa Concordia, capsized off the tiny Italian island of Giglio last year, killing 32 people and leaving thousands traumatized. Now Captain Francesco Schettino will face justice in a court of law.

A judge in Grosseto, a town in Tuscany, announced Wednesday that there was enough evidence to try Schettino for manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship while 4,200 passengers and crew were still aboard. Schettino denies the charges.

The Costa Concordia ran aground in January 2012 as it passed very close to the island’s shore. It was one of the most high-profile shipwrecks since the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.

The Costa Concordia, carrying more than 4,200 passengers, ran aground Jan. 13 off the coast of Italy killing 32 people - including two Americans.

Schettino will be the only defendant in the trial, which will begin on July 9 in Grosseto. Five other defendants have sought plea bargains in separate cases.

Schettino’s defense team tried to convince Judge Paolo Molino to drop the charge of abandonment of ship, one of the worst and most embarrassing offenses for a captain. But Molino ruled there was enough evidence to suggest the captain left the cruise liner voluntarily hours before the last passenger was rescued, rather than falling off the ship accidentally as he initially claimed.

“I can only tell you that anyone who has been in a position of authority would feel very, very depressed, exactly as he feels,” said Francesco Pepe, Schettino’s lawyer.

He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted, according to his lawyer.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Thanks for the update. Let’s hope justice prevails. This guy should see the inside of a prison cell for the rest of his life over those needless deaths.