Costa Concordia captain gets 16 years.

[nailer]

Originally Posted by HarmanKardon

Please do not misunderstand me - British naval history is an impressive, a great topic!

Jutland was a draw.

[merrylander]

Am I the only one to note that when the ship was lying on its side there was a rock formation jutting out that nearly touched the ship. Surely the helmsman must have seen it and assumed that it might continue under the surface and veered away from the land.

[donquixote99]

From the way I see ship control procedures depicted, I get the impression that helmsmen aren't supposed to steer a different way than ordered because they assume something.

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by donquixote99

From the way I see ship control procedures depicted, I get the impression that helmsmen aren't supposed to steer a different way than ordered because they assume something.

He could have brought it to the captain's attention, not that it would have changed his mind, or what passed for his mind.

[JJIII]

Originally Posted by merrylander

Am I the only one to note that when the ship was lying on its side there was a rock formation jutting out that nearly touched the ship. Surely the helmsman must have seen it and assumed that it might continue under the surface and veered away from the land.

I think, (I know, that might be dangerous!) that the ship hit something farther out and lost steerage and then drifted into the final resting place.

[donquixote99]

Originally Posted by JJIII

I think, (I know, that might be dangerous!) that the ship hit something farther out and lost steerage and then drifted into the final resting place.

I looked at the wikipedia article on this. You're right, JJ, it drifted for about an hour and a half before grounding. The Captain claims he grounded it deliberately, the Coast Guard says 'maybe.'

There was a crowd on the bridge, including several officers, the Captain, and the Captain's girlfriend, all to enjoy the dramatic close-passby of the island. The Captain had the alarms turned-off and was navigating, he said, 'by sight.' He frequently asked the first officer for radar updates, apparently needing glasses he didn't have to read instruments. He admits to seeing waves breaking on the reef and ordering a course correction too late. The attempted turn swung the side of the vessel into the reef, resulting in a 70' gash and embedding a boulder the size of a truck (or so the photo looks to me) in the ship's bottom. This flooded the engine room, and the ship had no motive power and only electricity from batteries after that.

The helmsman was convicted along with several other officers and officials in July 2013, in plea bargain deals. Helmsman got less than two years, suspended. Charge was supposedly turning in wrong direction when Captain ordered corrective maneuver. Whether this was a fair cop or just a plea to avoid risking actual prison time, I cannot say.

[merrylander]

That helps, thx.