Francesco Schettino

Francesco Schettino (born 14 November 1960) is an Italian former shipmaster who commanded the cruise ship Costa Concordia when it struck an underwater rock and capsized off the Italian island of Giglio on 13 January 2012.

Thirty-two passengers and crew died.

On 16 April 2002, aged 41, Schettino was hired by Costa Crociere, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation.

Starting as an official in charge of security he moved up to become second-in-command.

In 2006 Schettino was promoted captain and given command of the newly launched Costa Concordia.

In November 2008, when he was captain of the Costa Concordia, the ship suffered damage to her bow when high winds over the Sicilian city of Palermo pushed the ship against its dock.

There were no injuries and repairs started soon after.

According to Schettino's employer, in 2010, as master of the Costa Atlantica, he damaged another Carnival Corporation ship while entering the port of Warnemünde, Germany, at too high a speed.

AIDA Cruises later denied that the incident caused damage.

Schettino was the captain in charge of the Costa Concordia on 13 January 2012, when the ship attempted a sail-by salute past Giglio, a manoeuvre he had performed before.

The ship struck an underwater rock off the island, partially capsized and listed on its starboard side, resulting in the deaths of 32 people.

Reportedly, Schettino was distracted by Moldovan dancer Domnica Cemortan, who was on the bridge at the time.

Cemortan later admitted to being present on the bridge, and having an affair with Schettino.

However, Schettino himself claimed that he sailed so close to the rocks to perform a sail-by salute, and was navigating by sight since he knew the route so well.

Costa Cruises later said that Schettino failed to follow the approved route for sail-by salutes.

Schettino accepted some degree of responsibility and asked for forgiveness when he talked about those who had died.

In 2012, Schettino's lawyer, Bruno Leporatti, defended his client's actions and indicated that his manoeuvre after the collision was "brilliant" and saved lives.

In 2014, two years after the Costa Concordia disaster, upon invitation by a university in Rome, he held a panic management seminar with subsequent strong controversies.

In December 2014, another one of Schettino's lawyers, Domenico Pepe, just prior to Schettino's testimony, declared that his client wanted to set the record straight and "defend his honour".

Schettino indicated prior to trial that the underwater rocks that the ship hit were uncharted, the helmsman did not speak English or Italian, and that the ship's generators malfunctioned, impeding the rescue effort.

Regarding his early departure from the vessel, Schettino said he left the ship when it turned over, and that he fell into a lifeboat.

A transcript of a recorded conversation between Schettino and Gregorio De Falco, the on-duty Italian Coast Guard commander, was broadcast around the world.

It details a very angry De Falco repeatedly ordering Schettino to leave the lifeboat and return to the stricken Costa Concordia.

De Falco did not believe Schettino's explanation of how he "fell" into the lifeboat, or his excuse for not returning to his vessel because it was "too dark" and the lifeboat had "stopped moving".

De Falco also proclaimed to Schettino, "You've abandoned ship! I’m in charge now," At one point, De Falco was so angered at Schettino's excuses that he told Schettino, "Vada a bordo, cazzo!"

(literally "Fucking get on board!" but also translated as "Get the fuck on board!", "Get on board, for fuck's sake!", or "Get on board, dammit!"), but Schettino did not do so and was one of the first to reach land.

Schettino also claimed he would have returned to the ship by helicopter, if it were possible.

Carlo Galli, a Giglio police officer, found Schettino, and offered to get him a dinghy to get him back to the ship, but Schettino declined.

Galli also said that Schettino was dry, despite supposedly falling from the ship.

Schettino was vilified in extensive media coverage that dubbed him "Captain Coward" and "Captain Calamity".

Others in the press noted that Schettino was a daredevil and prone to insubordination.

He was even described as "Italy's most hated man" by the tabloid press.

At the end of his trial at Grosseto, Schettino said that he spent three years "in a media meat grinder."

In 2015, he was sentenced to sixteen years in prison for his role in the incident.

In 2015, Schettino published a book, Le verità sommerse ( The Truth Submerged), in which he characterized himself as a hero.

The book was controversially dedicated to the victims of the catastrophe.

Many in the media criticized the book, especially how Schettino was attempting to profit from the disaster, and to paint himself in a better light.

He began serving his sentence in 2017 after exhausting his appeals.

Francesco Schettino was born in Castellammare di Stabia into a seafaring family based in Meta, Campania.

He attended the nautical institute Nino Bixio in Piano di Sorrento, then worked for the ferry company Tirrenia.