Italy shipwreck captain 'not wearing glasses'

[MindMover]

Source: AlJAZEERA

The captain of the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise liner was not wearing his glasses on the evening of the accident, the officer's lawyer has said.

"That evening Schettino had left his reading glasses in the cabin and repeatedly asked [Ciro] Ambrosio to look at the radar to check the route," Ambrosio's lawyer Salvatore Catalano told Reuters outside a pre-trial hearing on the accident on Saturday.

The cruise liner capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio after hitting a rock on January 13, killing at least 25 people and leaving seven people still unaccounted for.

Prosecutors have accused Captain Francesco Schettino of causing the disaster by bringing the Costa Concordia, carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew, too close to the shore.

The first officer, Ciro Ambrosio, and seven other officers and executives of the ship's owner, Costa Cruises, are also under investigation.


Read more: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/03/20123318315405781.html

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Gotta wear your glasses when you are the captain of a ship carrying thousands of passengers and you are very close to shoreline......

[NRaleighLiberal]

1. ....I thought the rumor was he was "hiking in Argentina" or something similar?

[MADem]

2. He couldn't read the instruments on the bridge, is the allegation here...

Not that he could not see the shoreline.

We're talking reading glasses, after all...not distance vision.

[Journeyman]

3. Guess you need glasses to see the radar, but how do you miss the Island off the Starboard bow? . . .

[cbayer]

4. Look at the radar to check the route?

While radar can help you see shoreline, it is far from the best tool for doing so.

Did he not have a navigation officer on board? Did they not have charts?

[snagglepuss]

7. I read back when this happened that he pre-programmed the

route. He said when he did so the maps didn't reveal the rock that the ship struck.

[cbayer]

9. If he called them maps, we have a problem right there.

So he was using auto-pilot and that's ok, but you still have to keep a close eye on where you are going as currents and winds can change quickly.

Anyway, he was negligent, period. These excuses are just not going to fly.

[csziggy]

12. From the reconstruction of events on one of the TV specials

The rock he hit was visible on Google Earth!

I'm not sure if it was the one on Discovery or on National Geographic, but one had two marine navigation experts reconstructing the events and the route from the information given. The one right thing the captain did was have the ship turn around and come back close to shore - otherwise, the ship would have sunk in deep water.

But the evening of the wreck I had located the island on Google Earth and close to where the ship was grounded, there was a large rock formation offshore. According to the experts, that is what the ship hit.

[appleannie1]

5. That is not an excuse. It is like saying he wrecked because he had a sleeping mask on.

If anything, it is an admission of irresponsibility.

[secondwind]

6. Isn't it late to bring up the "I didn't have my glasses on" story?

[Moosepoop]

8. This excuse does double duty!

It must explain how he tripped and ended up in the lifeboat... he couldn't see whatever it was he "tripped" over! Brilliant!!! (not)

[Po_d Mainiac]

10. glasses woodn't have been much use

[jmowreader]

11. Who the hell is Schettino's lawyer? Joliet Jake?

No, I didn't. Honest... I ran out of gas. I... I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts! IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD!

[whathehell]

13. I don't think he was wearing his brains either.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

14. .

[jakeXT]

15. What were his officers doing?

Don't tell me nobody saw it coming...

[smokey nj]

16. Francesco Schettino is the new Jan Brady.

[Fearless]

17. I guess EVERYONE on the bridge forgot theirs too?

Give me a break.

[shanti]

18. how many lies is this jerk going to spew?

it's been excuse after excuse!

[unkachuck]

19. "...left his reading glasses in the cabin..."

....funny, I have to wear my glass when I drive my car....I wonder if he got a ticket?

....doesn't matter, I'll bring my own glasses and life vest....where do I sign up for a Costa cruse?

....there's going to be some Costa cruse bargains for the courageous in the near future....