Italian Court Orders Captain of Ship to Stay in Jail
MALVEAUX: Here's a run down to some of the stories we are working on next. What does an experienced seaman say about the Italian captain and how he handled the ship running aground? Then, which Republican has a better chance of beating Barack Obama? We're going to let you in on some new poll results. Later, New York City subway workers wants riders to do something really strange when they see rats. They've now turned this into a contest. We're getting a shocking account of what the captain did that was in charge of the Italian cruise ship that crashed. In his own words, he describes what happens. And we are hearing a conversation between this captain and the port authority. In it, he contradicts himself about whether or not he actually abandoned the ship and the passengers when it hit the rocks. The port authority asks, "How come so few people? Are you on board"? Schettino responds, saying, "No, I'm not on board because the ship is keeling. We've abandon it." The port authority asked, "What? You've abandoned the ship"? Again, the captain says, "No. What? Abandon? I'm here. All right, we're going to try to sort all this out. Joining us is Captain James Staples. He's captained cargo ships for 20 years. Captain, thank you for joining us. When you hear this exchange and -- first, he says he's not there and he's left and then he says -- he changes his mind and says, no, I'm here. What do you make of his explanation?</s>JAMES STAPLES, CARGO SHIP CAPTAIN & MARITIME CONSULTANT: Well, when I first heard this deposition that he gave on what happened, I was shocked. I was amazed that somebody who could be in command could leave the vessel like that and not have situational awareness of what was going on around him. This captain didn't even know how many people were on his ship. We're finding out there was well over 3,000 people. How can you not know that you have 3,000 people on board a ship that say and only say you have 100 to 200 people? I'm in disbelief. I can't believe the situational awareness of what was going on was that bad. I mean, this was terrible. And to leave the vessel in that situation and not know if everybody is safely off is delinquent.</s>MALVEAUX: From one captain to another, is there a vow or an oath you take to stay with the vessel, stay with the ship and make sure everybody is OK in a situation like that?</s>STAPLES: Well, as the captain of the vessel, your first priority is to save the lives of the souls that are on board, whether that be a crew on a smaller ship that carries 20, or you're in on a ship that carries 4,000 people. Your priority is to save those people, then the vessel and then the cargo. But always, always, always the safety of life at sea comes first. For the captain to leave like that is definitely a dereliction of his duties. A man like that should never, ever have been in command.</s>MALVEAUX: Captain Schettino spoke to the Italian media about what caused the accident. Here's what he said.</s>FRANCESCO SCHETTINO, CAPTAIN, COSTA CONCORDIA (through translation): Even though we were sailing along the coast with the tourist navigation system, I believe the rocks were not detected as the ship was not heading forward, but sideways, as if under water there was this rock projection.</s>MALVEAUX: So it sounds like he's blaming the ship's instruments. And you've seen the damage, you've seen this video here, how close that boat is to shore. Does that ring true to you, his explanation?</s>STAPLES: You can't blame the equipment when you deviate from your original course line. He had a voyage plan that was laid out and set forth that he should have followed. The captain deviated from that and took the vessel in close to the beach. He even said on the news that he was within 300 meters of the beach. The ship is about 290 meters long. He doesn't even have a safe turning radius for that vessel being that close. So to start blaming equipment, no, I find that, again, dereliction of his duties.</s>MALVEAUX: And Italy's Coast Guard located the black box from the ship. What can we learn from these recorders?</s>STAPLES: These recorders are a black box that will have voice recordings in the sailings. They'll take digital recordings off of all the equipment so you'll have a date, a time, the helm orders that were being given not only in voice commands, but you'll be able to see what the helmsman was doing as he was steering the vessel. You'll have any type of current information from the engine. You'll be able to tell if there was a problem with the generation on board the generators, if there was a blackout or an electrical failure. You will be able to tell from this black block, what we call a VDR, a voice data recorders, the type of information that's on it that they can now use from the investigation. There's quite a bit of information that will be very detailed into his actions.</s>MALVEAUX: Finally, quickly here, Captain, is there any possibility of survivors? We've been talking to folks who think that they could be in those cabins in air pockets. Is that still possible to find people alive?</s>STAPLES: Well, there's always a possibility and we only hope for that. But you're going to have to know where these people were located, who they were and where their cabins were. And that would tell you, on the percentage of possibility, if they're alive. So if they were probably on the portside, I'd say there's probably a good chance of that. But if they're on the starboard side, then your hopes diminish. But we can only hope for the best. And hopefully, there are more people who have survived and are still stuck in the vessel.</s>MALVEAUX: Captain Staples, thank you very much for your perspective. Appreciate that. Rating rats, yes, that's kind of weird. Think of it as a rodent reality show. That in New York, up next.