An Italian court is expected to announce a verdict this week in the case against Francesco Schettino, the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship that capsized in 2012, killing 32 people. If he is found guilty, Schettino could face more than 26 years in prison.
The decision will draw a line under a disaster that shook Italy at a time when the country’s confidence was already hit by years of economic turmoil.
It was Schettino’s hubris that came to define the Costa Concordia tragedy, and made it more significant than simply a terrible maritime accident.
“Many Italians saw his tale as a metaphor for our country’s woes,” said Gianni Riotta, former editor of Il Sole 24 Ore. “Schettino’s inept saga reminded us of our ruling class’s crass failure to steer Italy in the future.”
The cruise ship ran aground on 13 January after Schettino drove the ship too close to the Tuscan island of Giglio, where it hit rocks, ripping a hole in the hull. The captain told the court he made the manoeuvre as a favour to the ship’s head waiter, whose family was from the island, and to please the passengers. He denied he did it to impress a Moldovan dancer, his lover at the time, who was with him.
About 4,000 passengers and crew members were on board, though they were not made aware of the severity of the accident until much later.
Schettino has been charged with manslaughter, causing the accident, and abandoning ship as hundreds of passengers were trying to evacuate the sinking vessel in the dark of night.
A recorded radio conversation between Schettino, who was on a lifeboat, and Gregorio de Falco, a coastguard captain, captured the chaos of the night and solidified Schettino’s villian status in public opinion, given De Falco’s repeated, exasperated orders to Schettino, demanding he return to the ship and direct the evacuation.
De Falco’s plea for Schettino to “get back on board, for fuck’s sake”, became so popular that T-shirts were printed with the saying.
Schettino has defended his actions, saying he saved lives by steering the ship towards shore after it hit the rocks. He has also blamed faulty generators and his crew for botching his orders.
