Schettino insisted he didn't leave the liner early, telling Mediaset
television that he had done everything he could to save lives. "We were
the last ones to leave the ship," he said.
Questions also swirled about why the ship had navigated
so close to the dangerous reefs and rocks that jut off Giglio's eastern
coast, amid suspicions the captain may have ventured too close while
carrying out a maneuver to entertain tourists on the island.
Residents of Giglio said they had never seen the Costa come so close to the dangerous "Le Scole" reef area.
"This was too close, too close," said Italo Arienti, a
54-year-old sailor who has worked on the Maregiglio ferry between Giglio
and the mainland for more than a decade. Pointing to a nautical map, he
drew his finger along the path the ship usually takes and the jarring
one close to shore that it followed Friday.
Costa captains have occasionally steered the ship near
port and sounded the siren in a special salute, Arienti said. Such a
nautical "fly-by" was staged last August, prompting the town's mayor to
send a note of thanks to the commander for the treat it provided
tourists who flock to the island, local news portal GiglioNews.it
reported.But Arienti and other residents said even on those occasions,
the cruise ship always stayed far offshore, well beyond the reach of the
"Le Scole" reefs.
Coast Guard Cmdr. Filippo Marini said divers had
recovered the so-called "black box," with the recording of the
navigational details, from a compartment now under water, though no
details were released. | 
