The captain of the ill-fated Costa Concordia, the cruise liner that ran aground off the Italian coast in late January, personally ordered a route change, which took the vessel dangerously close to the island of Giglio, an Italian court has heard.
The ship ran aground and capsized near Giglio on January 13, 2012, killing more than 30 people.
Captain Francesco Schettino is accused of having steered the ship close to the island to repeat a stunt, a so-called 'bow', which had been performed before, news.com.au reports
According to the report, First Deck Officer Giovanni Iaccarino told judges in Grosseto that on the night of the disaster Schettino ordered the crew to sail at a distance of half a nautical mile from Giglio, rather than the normal 5 nautical miles.