“I was navigating by sight because I knew the depths well and I had done this manoeuvre three or four times,” he reportedly said.“But this time I ordered the turn too late and I ended up in water that was too shallow. I don’t know why it happened.”
Francesco Schettino, captain of the doomed Costa Concordia cruise liner, admitted to a navigation error in the final moments before the ship struck a rock and capsized off the picturesque Tuscan island of Giglio, according to Italian media reports.
“I was navigating by sight because I knew the depths well and I had done this manoeuvre three or four times,” he reportedly said.
“But this time I ordered the turn too late and I ended up in water that was too shallow. I don’t know why it happened.”
A transcript of the interrogation has leaked to Italian media outlets.
Divers searching the capsized cruise liner were hoping for calm seas on Thursday after the ship shifted precariously on a rocky ledge, delaying plans to remove oil from the vessel to prevent a possible environmental disaster.
Five days after the Costa Concordia ran aground, hopes of finding anyone alive have faded and salvage experts are preparing to pump 2,300 tons of fuel from the hulk.
Weather conditions, which have been largely good since the 114,500 ton vessel ran aground, are forecast to worsen over coming days, making the ship even more unstable and complicating the search for survivors and bodies.
