THE captain of the shipwrecked Costa Concordia has returned to court to appeal against being sacked, and said he will “certainly” take command of a ship again.
Francesco Schettino is challenging Costa Crociere’s decision to fire him after the Concordia ran aground off Tuscany a year ago and capsized, killing 32 people. Court-appointed experts have blamed Schettino for the disaster, saying he took the ship off course in a stunt.
Schettino insists his deft steering saved lives and that the reef the ship hit was not on his charts.
As he arrived for the closed-door hearing in Torre Annunziata, near Naples, Schettino was asked if he thought he’d command a ship again. He replied: “Yes, certainly.”
A separate court is deciding whether to indict Schettino on manslaughter and other charges.
