As if things were not terrible enough for Captain Francesco Schettino and Costa Cruises, it seems as though they are going to need to undergo some online reputation management. Schettino was the captain of the Costa Concordia; the cruise liner that crashed off the shores of the Italy. His reputation seems to be absolutely shattered by the recent events. His actions have caused problems for his employer, Costa Cruises as well. Time to hire a marketing firm for some drastically needed damage control.
The Costa Concordia struck rocks near Giglio Island of the Tuscan shore of Italy. The captain steered the ship off course into the shallow and rocky waters close to the island. While close to the island the ship collided with rocks which tore a hole in the side of the ship. The ship was eventually steered closer into shore where it began to sink turn onto its side. The maneuver to bring the boat closer into shore was made in order to aid with the offload and rescue of the passengers aboard. It has been reported that 11 passengers have lost their lives in this incident and there are still between 20 and 25 people that are missing.
Reports have now surfaced that the Captain had ordered dinner for himself and a female shortly after the liner had struck the rocks. According to a cook on the cruise liner, the captain insisted on eating dinner. Not only did he enjoy dinner, but stayed for a drink and waited for the woman he was eating with to finish her dessert. The female is supposedly a Costa Cruises employee, but was not part of the crew on the Costa Concordia. Schettino’s actions make it seem like he was oblivious or untroubled by what had happened to his ship.
Records of exchanges between Schettino and an Italian Coast Guard official have also been released. These recordings have proven that what Schettino had claimed as his actions were in fact different than what had occurred. Capt. Schettino had told the official that he had been thrown off the vessel after it had rocked. Although being ordered to get back onto the ship and give the Coast Guard details about the amount of passengers on board and their state, he never got back onto the ship. Schettino severely abandoned his duties as the captain of the ship when he abandoned the ship before all passengers and crew were safely away. His actions have left people to question his character and why he was ever appointed captain by Costa Cruises.
Captain Schettino is now under house arrest and facing manslaughter, shipwreck and abandoning ship charges. The incident is currently under investigation to determine exactly what happened aboard the ship leading up to the grounding. A search is still being conducted to find the missing individuals.