Domnica Cemortan, the "Mystery Woman"
If there is a moral of this story, I suppose it must be, “don’t leave your lingerie in the captain’s cabin.” Not long after the Costa Concordia ran aground and sank off the island of Giglio on January 13th, there were reports of the ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, being seen with a “mystery woman.” Described as young and blonde, the reports were variously that the captain was seen drinking with her, having dinner with her and that she was also on the bridge with the captain around the time that the ship ran aground.
The woman’s name is Domnica Cemortan. She is 25 and is from Moldavia. She is a ballet dancer and has worked aboard the Costa Concordia as an “international hostess” whose duties may have included serving as a translator for Russian guests. When the ship sank, however, she was neither working as a member of the crew nor was she listed on the passenger manifest.
She had just completed a six month stint working on the ship and was scheduled to get off prior to the start of the ill-fated seven day cruise. Coast Cruises now says that she bought a ticket and stayed aboard the ship as a passenger but had not checked into her room before the ship struck the rock and sank.
She had denied having a romantic relationship with the 52 year old captain, until her lingerie, other articles of clothing and a make-up bag were found by divers in the captain’s submerged cabin. She has now told Italian prosecutors, “Yes, it’s true. I am in love with Captain Schettino…” Italian authorities consider Ms. Cemortan a witness but not a suspect in the criminal investigation of the ship’s sinking.
Captain Schettino, a married father of a 15-year-old daughter, is under house arrest at his home near Sorrento on suspicion of multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship.
ah . . . shipwrecks, accidents, and international incidents like hostage-takings are always great for catching folks unawares and revealing the seedy undersides of things. i know from experience . . .
I thought they already had her talking on TV news not long after it happened and she was blonde. From this photo, you really can’t tell what color hair she has.
In fact, I’m not even sure its the same woman?
For centuries there have been women at sea, not on the manifest. Wives, mistresses, stowaway girlfriends, nothing new here. England managed to be the supreme naval force in the world during the 18th century, with many women unofficially aboard. Some of them helped out in battle. They were sometimes blamed for using too much fresh water, but never implicated in the sinking of a ship.
The real issue in the Costa Concordia disaster is the navigation, or lack of. And although the captain is primarily responsible, what of the helmsman? What of the officer of the watch? Who the devil was steering the ship, and at such speed?
iff this is true, then house arrest will finish this man off before his trial.
“don’t leave your lingerie in the captain’s cabin.” —well, then where is she supposed to leave it when commanding her ship?
Excellent point. She was just leaving her lingerie in her cabin, after all.
And I agree. I pity the poor captain under house arrest in the house with his wife and teenage daughter.
I’m wondering why the Costa Concordia story is receiving so little attention in the American mainstream media? The CBC ran an interesting one hour program- the captain claimed to have “slipped and fallen into a lifeboat,” which happened to be the one with his senior staff members on it. I suppose it would be comical, except for the horrifying ordeal that other people were put through because of his negligence, and the loss of lives that resulted.