Andrea Doria 1956

Reuters reports that Italy is enthralled by the tale of the “two captains,”  while on CNN another Italian captain, from another ship and another time, is remembered - In Andrea Doria wreck, a captain who shone.

As reported by Reuters:

One is Coast Guard Captain Gregorio De Falco, who furiously ordered the skipper of the Costa Concordia to return to his ship and oversee the rescue operations. 

The other is Captain Francesco Schettino – whom newspapers have branded a coward for fleeing in the face of adversity and who is now under house arrest, accused of multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship.

“Listen Schettino, perhaps you have saved yourself from the sea but I will make you look very bad. I will make you pay for this. Go on board (Expletive!)” De Falco yelled at Schettino during a 4-minute radio exchange made public on Tuesday. 

The imperative phrase in Italian — “Vada a bordo, cazzo!” — was already on T-shirts by Wednesday morning.

When considering the events on the Costa Concordia, it is worth remembering a third Italian captain, Piero Calamai of the ill-fated passenger liner, Andrea Doria. He was recalled yesterday in an article on CNN by Samuel Pecota, an associate professor in the Department of Marine Transportation at the California Maritime Academy and faculty captain of the Training Ship Golden Bear.  Captain Calamai made serious errors of judgement and navigation that contributed to the collision between the Italian luxury liner and the MS Stockholm off Nantucket in 1956.  Nevertheless, when it was clear the ship was sinking, Captain Calamai did everything possible to save his passengers and crew.

In Andrea Doria wreck, a captain who shone

After satisfying himself that all passengers and crew had been properly evacuated, Calamai had determined to go down with his ship and atone for his mistakes, but his officers talked him out of following the Andrea Doria to her grave. Nevertheless, he made certain he was the last person off the ship.

Calamai was destined never to command another vessel and died a broken man in 1972. While his navigation of the Andrea Doria before the collision was judged after the fact to be woefully deficient and unseamanlike in many respects, his handling of the abandon-ship operations was nothing short of exemplary.

Calamai remains a tragic but eminently respectable figure in maritime history. He understood his supreme responsibility to the passengers and crew of his vessel and faithfully performed his duty to ensure their safety after the collision, which in his heart he knew was largely his fault. A lesser man might have folded under the pressure or ignored his obligations and let instincts of self-preservation disgracefully overwhelm him.

Thanks to Anne Maclachlan for pointing out the article.