A Coward but not a Criminal (Rant)

Actually he tripped and fell into a lifeboat and could not get out because it was getting dark ...

Also if the media is right, he navigated the boat near shore to show off like he has done a few times in the past. If so it was his fault.

It will come out in court.

Are you kidding? The man is a joke.

He lied and lied and lied and lied with no shame and no intelligence even, 'cause things could not be hidden. What was the point of claiming their issues were just an "electronic glitch"? It's not that the hole in the ship was not going to be seen eventually, sinking or not sinking. What was the point of claiming to the cameras that he was the last one to leave the ship, when he knew there was even a recording proving otherwise and everyone saw him leave in a Taxi with the rescuing operations still going on? He didn't even call for help to avoid admitting the disaster, effectively KILLING dozens of people.

He's a fraud, one of those "easygoing" characters from Naples (not that they're all like that) who think they can TALK THEIR WAY out of everything, belittling every issue, re-interpreting the truth a thousand times, except that this time he's only made a legendary fool of himself.

I'm Italian and I've known DOZENS AND DOZENS of "men" like that. I'm ashamed to admit, but it seems to be a national disease. To our even greater shame, often these types even come across as "charming" to an unprepared audience. I hope this event can at least begin to cast a light on this kind of buffoons who shame our country. We are not all like that, but I know there's a lot to be done in this regard yet.

It is perfectly possible to discuss recent news without waiting for an investigation that will probably take months. But if it helps ease your mind, I will think of him as "very nearly absolutely a criminal" instead of "a criminal".

Typical media, Immediately looking for a scapegoat to blame. Funnily enough no one seems to mention the thousands that survived because of the courage of the crew of this ship. The media focuses instead on the dead and injured, while tragic is not the full story. Just a typical media beat up

I agree with the 'media beat up'. Put a spin on it and make it out to be worse than it is? Recordings of his conversation with Italian coast guard suggest the captain 'whined' because it was too dark to see. Further quotes say he kept questioning the orders given him by the coast guard officer in charge. The crew itself did what they were supposed to do in evacuating the passengers but the captain, who is supposed to remain 'on board' to supervise, didn't. He left his ship and those he was responsible for. So yes that makes him a coward and it also opens him up to criminal liability because he didn't do his job. He fled and that is what the media and the courts will focus on. 

I was in the navy--and in two at-sea collisions. Naval captains of every major nation are held to very high standards.  It isn't like a normal 9-5 job.  Captains have full decision making power in every situation and their crews can be charged criminally for failing to obey their captain in an emergency.  They can arrest and even dispense some justice at sea amongst crew  and passengers and travel waters governed by international law.

To get a captaincy in most nations requires besting other officers in skill and competency for command of the few ships their are relative to officers wanting them.  They are paid handsomely and treated as dignitaries in many cases.

When you screw up, you pay the price.

When I saw the chart of where he went aground and heard the distance from the rocks he was traveling at relatively high speed I knew he was in trouble.

Before you feel to sorry for him, every one of those dead passengers and crew most likely lost their lives due to this man's careless handling of his ship.   He damaged the reputation of his company and country by his actions and caused irreparable harm to those who lost family and life.

Maybe there are circumstances we don't know about but everything I have heard is conduct "not becoming of an officer". I feel sorry for him as a person but he had a responsibility that he can't just give back now.

Captaincy has requirements - standards of professionalism.  Cowardice is not one of them.

If 'all he is guilty of is cowardice' then he is also guilty of fraudulently passing himself off as a ship's Captain.

Like the Exxon Valdez....that makes TWO Captains that I can think off who deserve summary execution.

Abandoning ship like that is actually a crime.

Also, if he was responsible for the wreck via his own actions- then he's guilty of multiple manslaughters, and deserves 20-30 years.

IMO, it's true that media vultures can do a lot to the victim they choose (look what they are doing to Greece). But if it's true that the captain abandoned the ship prematurely and refused to take part in the rescue operations, and also if he made grossly incompetent and/or careless navigation decisions, he is probably guilty of some crime(s).

Certain professions have responsibilities coming with them. Even if you are just a parent, negligent or careless behavior towards your child can get you in prison. Teachers can go to prison for letting the children they are responsible for come to harm. Doctors are responsible for their patients, to some extent. Maybe one day, people in power who are responsible for starting a war for false pretenses and killing hundreds of thousands civilians will go to prison too - though I doubt it. But responsibility is a good thing.

I do feel sorry for the captain in the sense that it is not completely impossible for me to imagine myself doing a judgment error like he did with choosing the course. However, I don't know anything about navigating ships, so his decision to use the route he chose might've been a lot bigger endangerment than I imagined. I know that millions of people in the transportation business behave just as irresponsibly as this guy; I don't feel he deserved the accident any more than anyone else doing reckless shit.

Everything else I've read about this captain however kind of makes me forget I ever felt sorry for him.

Having served in a Navy, let me tell you that this man's actions fall terribly short of what a "Captain" should have done. 

On a ship, a Captain and his officers and crew are the physical embodiment of civilization and the laws of the country of that ship (hence his ability to officiate at a wedding). Since the ship was at all times in Italian waters, and the Captain is Italian, there are no 'conflicts' which might explain his behavior. His primary concern is the safety of his passengers, secondarily his crew and finally, the ship. 

His place, and his unwounded officers' and crew was on the ship helping to direct passengers to be evacuated. Further, it was his place not to deviate from the planned route. It was the duty of the First Officer to get him to rescind the decision to deviate, and if he couldn't, to contact the Company and be prepared to assume command of that ship.

What occurred instead was a disgrace. The truth will come out, be assured. He should be careful, as he might happen to fall into a jail cell this time.

Apparently it is a crime in Italy for a captain (and the first officer as well btw) to abandon his ship so soon, long before all the passengers and other crew members were evacuated. So unless his rather ridiculous sounding claim of 'falling into the lifeboat and not being able to get back on board' miraculously turns out to be true, he's in a lot of trouble. And there still is the fact that he let the ship get way to close to the island.

There was a violinist that helped all the children to get in vests and made sure they were on board a lifeboat. That done he went back for his beloved violin. No on has seen him since. 

Sad stories coming out. 

Except for that dumb-ass captain watching the ship {people} go down.    If he's not responsible, who is?

I believe he was the first formally identified body.

I just heard this on the news this morn.... Call CBC

Also, the media in the US is sensationalizing this right now due to SOPA.  They really don't want to report on SOPA, so they're trying to distract people with this.  CBS was particularly blatant about this last night.

All of it is one huge sad story... but that Hungarian fellow, and all who were lost are just tragic. There was no need for any of it. Each of those lost was a world.

About distracting people, or talking about SOPA?  

The coast guard is being touted as a hero. He allegedly told the Captain to get back on the ship and tell him how many people are there on the boat.

The Captain said, Do you know how dark it is. The coast guard told him to get out there again. So the Captain said my 2nd in command is with me. {Probably wanted the CGuard to send him out instead, or doesn't want to go to jail alone} He was immediately told for both of them to get back on the boat.   

Yes, media is classic for not directly saying they support something (SOPA and PIPA) but by what they report, and how much emphasis they place on it, show how biased they really are towards the big interests.

Agreed. If this were the military the captain would be facing not a court martial but the firing squad. Something to think about.

It'll take years but, they will get the story.

As far as the captain being a coward and not a criminal, I'm not so sure.  According to this BBC article, 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16611371

Keep in mind that Italy doesn't enjoy the same assumption of innocence (innocent until proven guilty) that Americans take for granted.  

So that would potentially make him a criminal if he left before the passengers did under the strict letter of their own law.  It looks as though he did.

It might be different in other countries or in international waters, but an Italian Captain navigating in Italian waters has more to consider than most others.

Regardless of nationality the captain's sole responsibility is first the passengers aboard his ship, second is his crew and the ship last. All are entrusted to his care. Leaving the ship during any kind of emergency is not an option. He was told repeatedly to return to the ship and he did not. Its the same as refusing a direct order from a superior officer.

sound' s like there were a lot of cowards on that boat, was it not stated that men were pushing women and children out of the way to get to the life rafts, women and children first, my arse!