COSTA CONCORDIA – Scapegoating the Master? Captain Francesco Schettino, who is being questioned on suspicion of multiple manslaughter, claimed on January 16, 2012 that the reef had not appeared on his nautical charts and had not been picked up by the ship's navigation systems. He said: "Even though we were sailing along the coast with the tourist navigation system I firmly believe that the rocks were not detected as the ship was not heading forward but sideways as if underwater there was this rock projection.” **
Source: http://malcolmoliver.files.wordpress.com
Meanwhile, the UK Hydrographic Office has issued a statement, declining to comment on whether Costa Concordia was using one of its charts. However, UKHO has confirmed that Italian charts of the area around ** Source: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9017124/ Costa‐Concordia‐cruise‐ship‐captain‐claims‐rocks‐were‐not‐on‐the‐map.html
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⋆ Stand alone cover for the Master, not necessary to rely on P&I insurance ⋆ Full coverage of defence and legal costs in criminal / civil proceedings up to EUR 1,000,000 ⋆ Employment disputes (defence, counter claims, security for costs) up to EUR 20,000
Giglio are available on a larger scale than the 1:300,000 charts it issues. Although this might seem to be a technical matter, the master of the vessel, who is under investigation for suspected manslaughter, has blamed the casualty on the cruise ship hitting an uncharted rock. This could make charts critical to the case for the defence, should the master face a criminal prosecution. No rock is shown on the UKHO chart at the position where Costa Concordia collided with it! Anyway, there are very strong indications for believing that the prejudice of the master, the behavior of all involved parties but also the fact that neither the shipowner nor the P&I club offered the master any legal assistance will do immense damage to the attempts to recruit and retain skilled and experienced seafarers at a time of growing national and international shortages. In the meantime the Italian courts have begun the investigation into the events that led to the grounding and capsize of Costa Concordia with attention being placed on the contents of the voyage data recorder. A group of experts will spend months assessing the data recorded into the VDR as part of a pre-trial hearing.
⋆ Jail arrest wages (wage continuation of up to EUR 150,000 for a maximum of 12 months) ⋆ Bail securities ⋆ No withdrawal of cover for a binding judgement ⋆ Tort claims against members ⋆ Reference jurisdiction
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