“I tripped and I ended up in one of the boats.” A short history of cowardly ship’s captains

Captain Francesco Schettino, master of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, should probably stop digging the hole he is in.

Theodore Géricault's masterpiece, "Raft of the Medusa", painted in 1819, shows the wretched survivors of the French frigate waiting in vain for salvation

The transcript of his heated discussion with Italian coastguard officer Gregorio De Falco has already gone viral. He is being mocked throughout the world for leaving his stricken ship before all the passenger and crew were safely off or accounted for. In the maritime world, that’s about the worst thing a ship’s master can do.

Having first claimed he was co-ordinating the rescue from a lifeboat, now he says he tripped “… and I ended up in one of the boats”.

Captain Schettino isn’t the first ship’s captain to abandon his passengers and crew to their fates, and he probably won’t be the last. This kind of thing is as old as shipping itself. Some notable incidents: Read More…