Pour ceux qui lisent l’Anglais et pas l’Italien, je reproduis ici un extrait d’un article du Lloyd’s List (la bible maritime, pas le Journal de Mickey, mais sur abonnement uniquement) aujourd’hui.
Lloyd’s
List disclosed last week that Costa Concordia had once before sailed very near
Giglio’s shore, on August 14, when it came within 230 m of the island. Costa
Cruises said that it had authorised that approach but also claimed that the
vessel was never closer than 500 m of the coast at any point in the voyage.
Capt
Schettino told magistrates that Costa Cruises had insisted on the manoeuvre to
please passengers and attract publicity, according to transcripts leaked to
Italian newspapers.
“It was
planned, we were supposed to have done it a week earlier but it was not
possible because of bad weather,” Capt Schettino said, told the Corriere della
Sera daily. “They insisted ; they said : ‘We do tourist navigation, we have to be
seen, get publicity and greet the island’.”
He said he
had performed similar manoeuvres regularly over the past four months on Costa
Concordia and on other ships in the Costa fleet along the Italian coastline,
which is dotted with small islands that are popular with tourists.
Costa
Cruises declined to respond to Capt Schettino’s comments. “As an investigation
by magistrates is currently underway, we cannot give out any information,” said
Mr Foschi.