By Jean Bush
The luxury Italian cruise ship, the Costa Concordia, full of pleasure-seeking tourists, struck a reef on Friday, January 13th, a bad luck day for sure, gouging a huge gash in her side, causing her to capsize just off the Tuscan island of Isola del Giglio.
At least 17 people died, including 15 passengers and two crewmen; 64 others were injured (three seriously) and 16 are missing. Two passengers and a crewmember trapped below deck were rescued.
Captain Francesco Schettino had deviated from the ship's computer-programmed route to treat people on Giglio Island to the spectacle of a near shore salute. He was later arrested on preliminary charges of multiple manslaughter, failure to assist passengers in need and abandoning the ship. His First Officer, Ciro Ambrosio, was also arrested.
The Costa Concordia entered service for Costa Cruises, a subsidiary of the Carnival Corporation, in July 2006 as the largest ship built in Italy at the time, measuring 114,137 Gross Tonnage, 290.2 metres (952 ft) long, and costing €450 million (US$569 million). By tonnage, it is the largest passenger ship to sink. Industry analysts believe the vessel is a constructive total loss. (Wikipedia)
The Captain, who claimed to have fallen accidently into a lifeboat, which prevented him aiding in the rescue, had the following exchange with the local Coast Guard, transcribed and taken from the London Telegraph:
The tape revealed Capt. De Falco’s mounting anger and frustration as he struggled to get the captain back on board his sinking ship. The exchange came at around 1.46am on Saturday, around four hours after the initial collision between the Costa Concordia and an underwater rock formation just a few hundred yards off the coast of Giglio.
The collision caused Capt. Schettino to attempt to steer the ship back into the island’s port, but it capsized on to a rocky shelf as it reached shallow water. The evacuation of the vessel eventually began at around 11.50pm and would not be complete until about 4.45am, but at the time of the recording Capt. Schettino had apparently already left the cruise ship and was in a lifeboat heading for safety.
Coastguard official, Captain Gregorio De Falco (CG): “Hello. This is De Falco from Livorno, am I speaking with the captain?”
Captain Francesco Schettino (FS): “Yes, good evening Captain De Falco.”
CG: “Am I speaking with the captain? Please tell me your name.”
FS: “This is captain Schettino.”
CG: “Schettino? Listen Schettino, there are people trapped on board. Now you need to go on your lifeboat, under the bow of the ship on the side. There is a ladder. You need to climb up the ladder and board the ship. Get on board and report to me how many people there are. Is that clear? I am recording this conversation, captain Schettino.”
FS: “Captain, let me tell you one thing...”
CG: “Speak up!”
FS: “The ship, at this moment...”
CG: “Captain, speak up! Shield the microphone with your hand and speak louder, clear?”
FS: “At this moment the ship is tilted.”
CG: “I understand. Listen, there are people who are coming down the ladder on the bow. Go back in the opposite direction, get back on the ship, and tell me how many people there are and what they have on board. Clear? Tell me if there are children, women and what kind of help they need. And you tell me the number of each of these categories. Is that clear? Look, Schettino, perhaps you have saved yourself from the sea but I will make you look very bad. I will make you pay for this. Dammit!”
FS: “Captain, please...”
CG: “There is no 'please’ about it. Go back on board. Assure me you are going back on board!”
FS: “I am in the lifeboat, under the ship, I haven’t gone anywhere, I’m here.”
CG: “What are you doing?”
FS: “I am coordinating...”
CG: “What are you coordinating there? Get on board the ship and coordinate the rescue on board. Are you refusing?”
FS: “No, no I am not refusing.”
CG: “Are you refusing to go on board? Tell me the reason why you are not going.”
FS: “I am not going because there is another lifeboat that has stopped.”
CG: “You get on board. This is an order. You need to continue the rescue. You called the evacuation, now I am in charge. You need to go on board the ship, is that clear?”
FS: “Captain.”
CG: “Can you hear me?”
FS: “I am going.”
CG: “Go. Call me when you are on board. My air rescue team is there. He is at
the bow. Get going. There are already corpses Schettino. Move!”
FS: “How many dead are there?”
CG: “I don’t know. One I am aware of. One I’ve heard of. You need to be telling me this. Christ!”
FS: “But you are aware it is dark and we can’t see anything?”
CG: “And what do you want? To go back home, Schettino? It’s dark and you want to go back home? Get on the bow of the ship and tell me what can be done, how many people there are and what do they need. Now!”
FS: “I am here with the second commander.”
CG: “Excuse me?”
FS: “I am here with the second commander his name is...”
CG: “So both of you, get on board, both of you. What is the name of the second?”
FS: “Dimitry.”
CG: “Dimitry who?”
FS: “Dimitry... “ (Unclear)
CG: “You and your second commander, go and get on board now. Is that clear?”
FS: “I want to get on board the ship but the other lifeboat has stopped its engine and it is drifting and I called other rescuers.”
CG: “It’s already one hour you are telling me this. Now, get on board. Get on board! And you tell me how many people there are.”
FS: “OK, Captain.”
CG: “Go, right now!”
After a short break and with rescue workers struggling to evacuate the remaining passengers and crew from the ship, the exchange between Capt. De Falco and Capt. Schettino continues:
CG: “Captain, I am De Falco from Livorno.”
FS: “I have called the company and they told me there are hundreds of people on board the ship. I think.”
CG: “Captain can you not give me an exact number?”
FS: “It seems like it’s 100. Captain, I am not able to give you the exact number. Earlier we were carrying out the evacuation of all the passengers and now all of us officers are here.”
CG: “Where are you? You and your officers are all on the lifeboat?”
FS: “Yes, me and the second commander...”
CG: “Excuse me but earlier it was just you and your sailor and now you are telling me that you are there with the officers. So you could have continued the evacuation? Why don’t you go back on board and see what is happening and then tell us?
FS: “At the moment...”
CG: “Get back on board! Send someone back on board to coordinate.”
FS: “I am coordinating at the moment.”
CG: “I am giving you an order captain. You must send someone on board.”
FS: “We are going on board to coordinate.”
CG: “Exactly, you have to go back on board to coordinate the evacuation. Is that clear?”
FS: “But we can’t go back on board now.”
CG: “Why did you get them off Captain?
FS: “They abandoned the ship.”
CG: “One hundred people still on board and you abandoned the ship?
FS: “I didn’t abandon any ship because the ship turned on its side quickly and we were catapulted into the water.”
CG: “We will see later what happened. OK. But from now you let me know everything that is happening. You stay on the life boat and don’t you go away. Is that clear?”
FS: “We are here, we are here.”
As can be seen from this argumentive exchange, the Captain had no intentions of going back to the sinking ship as his lifeboat continued to drift closer to shore and safety. Upon disembarking on land, he was immediately arrested. On Wednesday, he was placed under house arrest at his home in Meta di Sorrento, near Naples.
As a trial ensues and all the facts come out, blame shall be placed in its proper designation, including the captain and his superiors. Facing manslaughter charges, dereliction of duty and abandonment of a ship in distress, Captain Schettino is facing the ruination of his career and years, perhaps decades, in prison. Was it auspicious that this happened on Friday the 13th? Was this mere coinsidence? Or is something much darker at work here? Why, exactly, did the Captain shut off his computerized preplanned course and manually steer the ship into unmarked territory? For play? A game? Whose permission did he seek or was he told by higher ups to engage in this tricky and dangerous maneuver? If this were a direct but verbal order, could they have foreseen this accident? If so, then perhaps the steering into the reefs was deliberate, buy why? Who benefits from this horror? Is the captain a mere scapegoat? Was this tragedy their triumph?
This incident is once again pointing in a different direction than where we are told to look by the mainstream media. All the tell-tale signs of an agenda aimed at bringing the terror of the NWO ever closer, are there to be analyzed. Just as in the movie, The Truman Show, where one man was held captive of a society that was invented around him and kept him afraid to break free and find out what was on the other side, so are we kept in the same state by the rulers of this world and this episode is part of that agenda that we will be analyzing.
In our next series of articles, we shall explore the possible occult dimensions to this event and if it can relate to any other deliberate accidents and sacrifices of innocent life.
I wish to thank my contact in Italy for his input, support and, most of all, friendship.
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