Costa Concordia Captain Francesco Schettino has been trying to cover his own actions over the last week by blaming strange circumstances and everyone else for his failure as a cruise ship Captain and on Sunday he decided that it was time to place the responsibility of the shipwreck.
According to Schettino:
“Costa was aware of the frequent practise of cruise ships performing sail- pasts. The ‘salute’ to Giglio had been planned and authorized before the Costa Concordia set off.”
In the meantime Costa Cruises blames the Captain for sailing too close to land which invited the disaster that ultimately killed 13 passengers and left thousands more stranded.
Speaking with investigators examining the sinking the Captain told investigators that sail-pasts were authorized “all around the world” by Costa Cruises. A close sail-past the Captain says was also authorized for Capri in the Bay of Naples.
In the meantime Costa Cruises is said to have insulted survivors of the cruise ship sinking when they offered passgers a full discount and 30% off their “next cruise” aboard a Costa Cruises ship.
One survivor told the Telegraph of the offer:
“It is a ridiculous and insulting offer.”
More than 100 passengers are expected to file a multi-million-dollar class action lawsuit against the company. The lawsuit will be filed in Miami. The company did say “sue us if you want compensation” and that’s exactly what its getting from customers.
Here’s video showcasing the destruction caused by the shipwreck:
[iframe src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/XYwLQDwqDCI” width=”640? height=”480?]
I can’t say I blame the cruise ship passengers, customers who are forced to wait for a new airplane because of over-booking at given far better discounts on future trips then passengers aboard the Costa Concordia who nearly died.