Turn left! Turn right! Costa Concordia captain's confusion as ship hit rocks As the ship approached the shore, he told the Indonesian helmsman to swing the rudder hard to starboard - "otherwise we go on the rocks." Capt Schettino frantically ordered the crew to close the watertight compartments deep in the bowels of the ship. After initially giving the order "hard to port," moments later Capt Schettino changed his mind and called out: "Hard to starboard. Close the watertight doors in the engine room. The chief officer of the engine room told him the level of the water was rising fast. Despite a rapidly deteriorating situation, an officer announced to the 4,200 passengers and crew that "everything is under control" and that the vessel merely had a "technical problem." The recording, which will be analysed during the pre-trial hearing, concluded with an officer telling passengers and crew: "Attention, attention, abandon the ship." It was provided by Codacons, a consumer association which is supporting some Italian passengers in their claims for compensation. Thirty-two people died after the Concordia capsized off the coast of Giglio on the night of Jan 13. During the panic-stricken evacuation, more than 4,200 passengers and crew had to scramble for safety, most taking to lifeboats but some leaping into the water. Passengers attending the hearing recounted their terror as the ship listed violently and water flooded into its engine rooms. "I remember people fleeing in panic," said Luciano Castro, 49, an Italian public relations executive, outside the hearing. John Eaves, an American lawyer who is representing more than 150 passengers from 10 countries including Britain, said the €11,000 (£8,900) that passengers had been offered in compensation by Costa Cruises was "peanuts." He is calling instead for a minimum of $200,000 (£124,000) for those who suffered trauma and broken limbs, and $2-$5 million for passengers who lost a relation. Mr Eaves said he hoped the investigation would lead to sweeping improvements to safety drills, training and ship design in the cruise industry. The ship was top-heavy. It only sat half as deep in the water as the Titanic but it carried more than twice the number of passengers. The captain made a horrible mistake but we need to change safety standards in the whole industry. Peter Ronai, an American lawyer who represents 10 survivors, said Capt Schettino was being made a "scapegoat" and that responsibility for the accident rested with the owners of the ship, Costa Cruises, and its American parent company, Carnival Corporation. Costa Cruises insisted that the crew was properly trained in safety drills and that its crisis management unit in Genoa responded promptly to the disaster. The firm distanced itself from Capt Schettino, saying he diverged from the ship's agreed route and withheld information about the extent of the emergency. Carnival said that all lawsuits should be heard in Europe, not the US, because the ship was operated by an Italian company.