Wow. The Italian Coast Guard commander (De Falco) ordered the captain (Schettino) of the Costa Concordia to go back on board the vessel and report the situation. And he refused!
Schettino: "But do you realize it is dark and here we can't see anything…"
De Falco: "And so what? You want to go home, Schettino? It is dark and you want to go home? Get on that prow of the boat using the pilot ladder and tell me what can be done, how many people there are and what their needs are. Now!"
The full transcript, which is amazing, is here. And here's the Italian recording. Practice this in your Italian class in case you ever find yourself on a sinking Carnival Lines cruise ship!
By the way, I would have translated "Avanti!" (move) as "move it, asshole!" in this context.
Apparently the captain is well on the way to becoming the most hated man in Italy, which I guess is good news for Berlusconi. Check out the UK Daily Mail here for full details and many photos. This ship is REALLY close to the shore.