The operator of the Costa Concordia formally suspended the shipwrecked vessel's captain Thursday, as investigators scrutinized his final maneuvers with his stricken ship and reports emerged that he enjoyed a pre-wreck meal and wine with a 25-year-old woman.
Captain Francesco Schettino is already at the heart of inquiries into why the vessel struck a rock formation off the Tuscan island of Giglio, and why its crew failed to swiftly evacuate passengers. While the ship's operator moved to suspend Mr. Schettino a few days after the Jan. 13 accident, it formalized the decision Thursday, said Marco De Luca, lawyer for Costa Crociere, a unit of Carnival Corp.
The company's move deepens the isolation of Captain Schettino, who is under house arrest near his home in Sorrento. Mr. Schettino's lawyer didn't respond to requests for comment.
Italian rescue divers on Thursday continued their search of the 105,000-ton wreck for 21 missing people, nearly a week after the disaster. But no bodies have been recovered since Tuesday, leaving 11 people confirmed dead.
Italian investigators are trying to determine why the captain waited 73 minutes to sound the ship's evacuation alarm after the ship hit the rocks. Less than 20 minutes after contact, as worried passengers got word to Italian police, Italian coast guard called the ship for an assessment. Italian prosecutors allege that Mr. Schettino's failure to accurately brief coast guard officials delayed the rescue effort.
Coast guard investigators are reviewing whether the captain's attempt to turn his ship during this period exacerbated the evacuation by causing the vessel to list severely, said people familiar with its investigation Thursday. Italian prosecutors have also deepened their probe into what Costa Crociere officials told the captain in telephone conversations during the 73-minute window, these people said.
Prosecutors are also seeking to speak with Domnica Cemortan, a 25-year-old Moldovan woman who several accounts say was with the captain that night, said a person close to the investigation.
Italian daily Il Secolo XIX on Thursday published a photo it said portrayed Ms. Cemortan dining and drinking wine with the captain an hour before the collision occurred. In a TV interview earlier this week, one of the ship's cooks said the captain had sent for dinner and wine for himself and a woman as the ship was sinking. It was unclear from the interview if the cook was referring to the same woman.
Mr. Schettino has denied consuming alcohol that night. Results of a blood test that Italian authorities conducted on Mr. Schettino after the shipwreck have not been released.
In a Moldovan television interview and on her Facebook page, Ms. Cemortan described herself as an off-duty crew member who aided the ship's command by translating evacuation instructions for Russian passengers. The captain "did a great thing. He saved more than 3,000 lives," she said in the interview.
Costa Crociere said in a statement that the woman boarded the ship as a passenger and was "duly registered."
Captain Schettino has said that after his ship hit the rocks, he focused on making a dramatic U-turn to bring the ship close to shore to save it and its passengers.
A ship like the Concordia can in theory sustain a breach of its hull, which is divided into several watertight compartments, experts say. If a compartment fills with water, the ship can deploy stored water to other compartments to keep the vessel from tilting fore or aft, according to the coast guard and a naval engineering expert familiar with the probe.
An abrupt turn, though, could cause water in the compartments, which often transect the hull, to shift to one side, potentially causing a vessel of that size to roll, the naval engineer said, emphasizing it was too early to determine what caused the Concordia to list. The engineer said the 70-meter gash in the hull could have compromised three compartments, enough to have potentially sunk the ship.
Mr. Schettino has also said he lowered the ship's anchors as part of his efforts to get the ship closer to shore. Prosecutors have ordered police divers to inspect the anchors to determine their position and possibly corroborate this narrative, people familiar with the matter said.
As water rushed in, Mr. Schettino had at least three phone calls with Costa Crociere officials in the port city of Genoa, including Roberto Ferrarini, the company's head of marine operations, said people familiar with the investigation. It wasn't clear what was discussed or who placed the calls.
Costa Crociere has gradually sought to distance itself from the captain. Over the weekend, a senior Costa Crociere official defended the captain's conduct. On Monday, CEO Pier Luigi Foschi blamed the captain for the accident but said Costa Crociere would continue to provide him with legal assistance. On Thursday, Mr. De Luca described the cruise ship operator as an "offended party."
Mr. De Luca said the company is cooperating with prosecutors. He declined to comment on the investigation or on the telephone calls between the company and captain, as did a Costa Crociere spokesman. The spokesman also said Mr. Ferrarini, the head of marine operations, had received emailed queries from The Wall Street Journal and declined to comment. Mr. Ferrarini is currently assisting the company in addressing the crisis unfolding around Giglio, according to people familiar with the matter.
Lead prosecutor Francesco Verusio told reporters on Thursday that he is planning to appeal a judge's Tuesday decision that moved Mr. Schettino from prison to house arrest.
On Friday, the Italian government will review possible measures to restricting routes taken by cruise ships, particularly in environmentally sensitive areas, according to an Italian official. Environment Minister Corrado Clini has compared the cruise ship to a "mini-tanker" at risk of releasing 2,300 tons of fuel into Giglio's waters.
Those concerns were heightened Thursday night as meteorologists warned that a storm is approaching the island. The ship is perched on a seabed shelf but rough sea conditions could push it into much deeper water, according to Mr. Clini.
Carnival Corp. issued a statement late Thursday saying that while it has maintained an excellent safety record over the years, it will audit the safety and emergency procedures across its fleet.
"This tragedy has called into question our company's safety and emergency response procedures and practices," said Micky Arison, chairman and chief executive of Carnival.
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