The facts surrounding the horrific crash of an Italian cruise ship, which has left 11 known dead and another 21 missing, become more and more bizarre by the day. I’m sure that’s a source of anger, not solace, for the families of the dead and unaccounted for.
First, there were the transcripts of the captain of the ill-fated Costa Concordia, Francesco Schettino, cowardly refusing to get back on the ship, despite orders to do so by an Italian coast guard officer.
From the safety of a lifeboat, Schettino played dumb and delivered non sequiturs when asked why he wasn’t aboard helping his passengers — who included women and children — evacuate. One of the captain’s explanation? It was too dark to go back on the sinking ship.
His excuses were so ridiculous that in a stroke of genuis, the New York Post dubbed him “Chicken of the Sea” in its Page One headline.
Next, Schettino claimed he tripped and fell off the ship into a lifeboat. What?
And in the latest turn in the story, Schettino was seen dining with a young blonde, 25-year-old Domnica Cemortan, right before the ship hit a reef and capsized last Friday. She was apparently onboard illegally.
The 32 people who are either dead or missing include a retired couple from White Bear Lake, Minn. Jerry and Barbara Heil, devout Catholics, haven’t been found yet. They went on the trip as their reward for putting their four kids through college.
Schettino faces charges, including manslaughter, for the accident.
On Thursday Carnival Corp, the parent of the Italian company that owns the Costa Concordia, announced that it was going to perform a review of its emergency-response procedures throughout all 10 of its cruise lines, according to AP.
That review, which Carnival CEO Micky Arison said is meant to avoid future accidents, will be spearheaded by the company’s senior vice president of Maritime Policy & Compliance. He is retired Navy Capt. James Hunn.
In its press release the company also said that would cooperate with a evaluation of safety regulations by the International Maritime Organization.