Costa Concordia captain Francesco Schettino arrives in court to hear evidence against him

Passengers who survived the collision off the Tuscan coast on January 13 in which 32 people were killed are also attending.

Captain Schettino of the Costa Concordia (Reuters)

The captain of the shipwrecked cruise liner Costa Concordia appeared in a Tuscan court today.

Francesco Schettino wore dark glasses and used a back entrance to slip into the court in the town of Grosseto to hear evidence against him.

Passengers who survived the collision off the Tuscan coast on January 13 in which 32 people were killed are also attending.

More than 1,000 survivors, victims' relatives and their lawyers are attending a closed-door hearing to discuss the evidence against Schettino and eight other defendants.

Hearings this week will help decide whether a judge will order a trial for Schettino, who is charged with manslaughter, causing the shipwreck and abandoning ship while passengers and crew were still aboard. He denies the charges.

More than 1,000 survivors, victims' relatives and their lawyers are attending the closed-door hearing to discuss the evidence against Schettino and eight other defendants, including crew members and officials from Concordia owner Costa Crociere, which is owned by Miami-based Carnival.

“We want to look him in the eye to see how he will react to the accusations,” said German survivor Michael Liessen, 50.

Last month four court-appointed experts delivered a 270-page report of what went wrong based on an analysis of data recorders, ship communications equipment, testimony and other evidence.

The experts - two admirals and two engineers - lay most of the blame for the collision with the reef and the botched evacuation on Schettino. But they also noted that not all crew members understood Italian, not all had current certification for evacuation procedures, and not all passengers had participated in evacuation drills.

Passengers described a confused and delayed evacuation, with many of the lifeboats unable to be lowered because the boat was listing too far to one side. Some of the 4,200 people aboard jumped into the Mediterranean and swam to Giglio, while others had to be plucked from the vessel by rescue helicopters hours after the collision.

Schettino has insisted that by guiding the stricken ship to shallower waters near Giglio's port instead of immediately ordering an evacuation he potentially saved lives. He has claimed that another official, and not he, was at the helm when the ship struck.

The timeline in the expert report, however, makes clear that he had assumed command six minutes before the ship struck the reef.

Islanders on Giglio have been told that the Costa Concordia is not to be raised before 2014.