“Get back on board. Damn it.” — Coast Guard De Falco ordering Captain Schettino of the ill-fated Costa Concordia
JUST recently, the Costa Concordia cruise ship, a modern-day, 6 year-old vessel that brought tourists to several ports of call in different countries around the Mediterranean waters hit some jagged rocks and ran aground alongside the coast of the island of Giglio, not far from the Italian mainland. The ship had just sailed from Civitavecchia, a port near Rome and was just 3 hours into a seven-day cruise with its first stop in Savona, another port North of Rome.
Depending on accommodations, the cruise fare could range from $400 to $1300 per person. She carried more than 4,000 people, two thirds of whom were passengers and a third, crewmembers. Of the thousand or so crewmembers, about 300 were seafaring Filipinos, most of whom were kitchen staff and waiters.
As the story unfolds, the ship captain seems squarely responsible for the sea tragedy, which as of this writing, has 11 confirmed dead and over 20 still unaccounted for, considerably a small number compared to the 1500 plus lives lost in the Titanic which sank in 1912, a century ago in the North Atlantic Sea. But try telling that to the families of those who have lost loved ones.
The $400 million ship, the 26th largest among cruise ships, under the Costa banner owned by Carnival Cruise Lines would be a complete write-off as indications are that the ship could very well be dislodged off its rocky perch into the bottom of the Mediterranean. There are serious environmental consequences if the tons of fuel it carries in its belly begins to leak into the pristine waters in that part of the Mediterranean. There are thousands of stories yet to come from this tragedy. Of particular interest is the captain’s story.
As the pieces of the story fall into place, Captain Francesco Schettino, seems to have decided whimsically to deviate from the course set for his ship by the Costa Company which is to routinely pass the western side of the small island of Giglio. Instead, he directed the Concordia to pass the eastern side where locals and maritime people in the area are well aware of the sharp rocks near the shore. The ship was 4 miles off the programmed course when it ran aground. Costa Concordia, once a beautiful white ship now lies haplessly on its side, mortally wounded by a gash running about 160 feet with a huge rock lodged firmly in its hull. It shows the results of one man’s hubris and folly.
From news reports, Schettino wanted to salute a retired colleague on the port of Giglio and impress the family of his headwaiter who lives in the island. Facebook postings of a family member of that headwaiter in the island attest that the ship was going to come very, very near the island in a sail-by. Within minutes of the posting, Concordia did sail by and the tragedy began to unfold with thousands of passengers thrown into sheer panic and pandemonium when it became apparent that within a short time, the ship listed badly making it impossible to launch the lifeboats on one side of the ship. Seven blasts of the ship’s horn meant “Abandon ship.” But many did not know what it meant since evacuation exercises weren’t scheduled until the next day. It also appears that the captain may have been distracted because he was in the company of a young 25-year-old blonde Moldovan woman, also a Costa employee on holiday, a former ballerina working as a Russian translator, when it happened. Whether he was wining, dining and trying to impress the young woman with a sail-by of the island has yet to be established.
A former superior of the captain, the one who Schettino was purported to salute in the island of Giglio, called him “a braggart and a show-off who was driving the ship as though it was a Ferrari.” He claims to have reprimanded Schettino for his tendency to brag many times in the past. It was also found out that the Mayor of Giglio had sent Schettino a thank you note by email for entertaining the tourists in the island in a previous sail-by months earlier.
But what defines this ship captain much more clearly as a man and a captain after making such a tragic mistake, is his abandoning the ship well before the last of the evacuees were extricated in the wee, dark and cold hours of the following morning. It appears from passenger accounts that it was the junior officers who decided to launch the lifeboats after Schettino dithered in ordering all to abandon ship. It was the “little people” the waiters and the crew on the lowest levels of the ship’s totem pole that helped passengers wear their life vests and get off the ship into lifeboats.
One off-duty captain of a sister ship the Costa Serena happened to be on board the Concordia in his cabin on his way to Savona for a leave of absence when he found himself directing some of the evacuation efforts. He shakes his head in disbelief at the gross dereliction of duty exemplified by Schettino.
Reports indicate that Schettino left covered by a blanket in darkness and with his chief officer four hours earlier in a lifeboat. Coast Guard Gregorio de Falco severely reprimanded him for this action ordering him repeatedly to get back on board and direct the evacuation efforts. He refused. The full transcript of the recorded exchange of the Italian Coast Guard ordering the ship captain repeatedly to get back on board the doomed ship damns him to be more of a squeaky mouse than a man. Italians have been wearing T-shirts with the line Coast Guard Chief de Falco used, “Get back on board. Damn it.” Whether Schettino can live down the moniker people have labeled him with, as “Captain Coward” is highly unlikely.
Schettino, 52, who has only served at the helm for just 6 years, is currently on house arrest until the full investigation is completed. He may serve 12 to 15 years jail time if he is found culpable of the sea tragedy. Costa is not providing him with legal assistance as the company has placed the blame squarely on his shoulders. There will be monstrous lawsuits for Costa to handle with more than 30 lives lost, and thousands who have been through this unfortunate cruise. Carnival has lost a billion dollars as its share price plummeted in the wake of the tragedy. An elderly couple from Minnesota who are treating themselves to their cruise of a lifetime after scrimping and saving to raise 4 children are among those sadly unaccounted for.
This story is a modern day parable. We are the captains of our life’s journey. Sometimes, through sheer hubris and folly and because our character dictates our fate, we hit the rocks and the shoals that test our mettle. We all have events in our lives that define who we are to ourselves and to others. It is times like these when we find out if we are men of sterner stuff or just mice scampering about.
Let’s hope that when these moments come, as most assuredly they will in the course of a lifetime, that these come quietly without drama, without the harsh, judgmental and punitive glare of the public eye. Let’s hope that we can call on our inner reserves of strength of character to choose humbly and with God’s guidance, the right course of action to take quietly, decisively without fanfare.
Let’s hope that somehow we get the chance to define the moments of our life’s journey and not allow such moments to define us.
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Nota Bene: Monette Adeva Maglaya is SVP of Asian Journal Publications, Inc. She has authored the book, “The Complete Success Guide for the Immigrant Life.” Her books are available at amazon.com or immigrantsuccess.com To send comments or requests, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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