Recording reveals heated exchange between Schettino and Captain of the Port

Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino was placed under house arrest yesterday as investigation of the accident continued. Prosecutors reportedly are considering charges that could include manslaughter, abandoning ship before all others, and causing a shipwreck. Meantime recordings have been released of the exchange between Captain Schettino and the Coast Guard Captain of the Port in which Schettino was ordered to return to the ship. He did not comply and was subsequently placed under arrest.

In other developments, deteriorating weather conditions and a shift in the position of the ship led to a suspension of search operations by divers.

The confirmed death toll in the incident is now 11, with 23 others missing.

And the President of Italian classification society RINA, Enrico Scerni, has resigned. Costa Concordia is classed with RINA, which issued the ship’s Safety Management Certificate

January 18, 2012