Originally published January 30, 2013 at 9:24 AM | Page modified January 30, 2013 at 9:23 AM
Captain of wrecked cruise ship fights his firing
Francesco Schettino, who ran the Costa Concordia aground, says he’ll command a ship again.
Associated Press
Gregorio Borgia / AP
Relatives of the 32 people who died in the Costa Concordia shipwreck ride aboard a ferry near the cruise liner on Jan. 13, the anniversary of the shipwreck. The ship, which went aground on Jan. 13, 2012, lies just off the island of Giglio, Italy.
Salvatore Laporta / AP
Francesco Schettino speaks to the media following a closed-door courthouse hearing near Naples on Wednesday. The captain of the shipwrecked Costa Concordia has returned to court to contest his firing, and says he'll "certainly" take command of a ship again.
ROME — The captain of the shipwrecked Costa Concordia has returned to court to contest his firing, and says he’ll “certainly” take command of a ship again.
Francesco Schettino is challenging Costa Crociere SpA’s decision to fire him after the Concordia ran aground off Tuscany Jan. 13, 2012, and capsized, killing 32 people. Court-appointed experts have blamed Schettino for the disaster, saying he took the ship off course in a stunt.
Schettino insists his deft steering saved lives and that the reef the ship hit wasn’t on his charts.
As he arrived Wednesday for the closed-door hearing in Torre Annunziata, near Naples, Schettino was asked if he thought he’d command a ship again. He replied: “Yes, certainly.”
A separate court is deciding whether to indict Schettino on manslaughter and other charges.
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