Experts say cruise giant failed to act in shipwreck: Reports

ROME (AFP) - Europe's biggest cruise operator Costa Crociere may have failed to act promptly in the Costa Concordia disaster, according to a pre-trial report that still heaped much of the blame on the ship's captain.

The report, which was leaked in the Italian press on Thursday, was commissioned by the judge investigating the tragedy which claimed 32 lives when the giant ship with 4,229 people on board hit rocks on Jan 13.

Nine people are under investigation for the shipwreck off the island of Giglio, including captain Francesco Schettino and three Costa executives. One of the three executives is Roberto Ferrarini, Costa's fleet crisis coordinator, who was in regular contact with Schettino on the night of the disaster.

The report said Mr Ferrarini "did not appear to have the real pulse of the conditions on the ship" despite having all the important information at his disposal after it hit the rocks, an extract from the report said. The experts said that after Ferrarini was informed by the captain that three compartments were flooded "he should have promptly suggested to the captain to abandon the ship because its stability had been compromised." The order finally came almost half an hour after Mr Ferrarini was informed.