I haven’t found other confirmation on this, but the Wikipedia article on the sinking is saying that Schettino brought the ship so close to Giglio because the Concordia’s maitre d’hotel was from the island, and he wanted to give them (and the guy’s family who lived there still) a treat. Can you believe that? Four thousand people under his responsibility, the largest ship ever built in Italy under his command, and he throws it all away to do a showoff pass of a tiny town for one person?
Then after the ship rammed the rocks and coasted about a kilometer past the town, he ordered the ship about to try and ground it near town or in the harbor. It looks like the abrupt left turn (from northwest to south) may have been what heeled the ship over. I wonder if it had already extensively flooded and the turn sloshed all the water over to the starboard side past the point where it could right itself. Because the damage is all to the port side, yet the ship rolled over the opposite direction.
}:-)4