ROME | 
 
 ROME (Reuters) - The captain of the wrecked cruise liner Costa Concordia apologized on Tuesday for the accident in which as many as 32 people died and said he had been distracted when the vast ship struck the rock which holed it. 
 
 In his first full television interview since the accident on January 13, Francesco Schettino acknowledged his responsibility as captain and said he thought constantly about the victims of the disaster. 
 
 "When there's an accident, it's not just the ship that's identified or the company," he told Italy's Canale 5 television, speaking calmly but with a pronounced tic in one eye. "The captain is identified and so it's normal that I should apologize as a representative of this system," he said. 
 
 Schettino, who is charged with multiple manslaughter, causing the accident and abandoning his ship, was speaking after being freed from house arrest last week. 
 
 The Naples-born captain admitted to failing to act decisively enough once it became clear the 144,500 tonne vessel had come too close to the island of Giglio off the Tuscan coast where it ran aground. 
 
 "This was a banal accident in which there was a breakdown in the interaction between human beings and it created misunderstandings and it's for this that there's so much rage," he said. "It was as though there was a blackout in everyone's heads and in the instruments." 
 
 "I blame myself for being distracted," he said but added the actual sailing of the ship was under the command of another officer at the time. 
 
 "At that moment, I went up to the deck and ordered the ship to be put on manual navigation and I didn't have command, that's to say being in charge of sailing the ship, that was the officer," he said. 
 
 Investigators have severely criticized Schettino's handling of the disaster, accusing him of bringing the 290 meter-long vessel too close to shore, delaying evacuation and losing control of the operation during which he abandoned ship before all the 4,200 passengers and crew had left the ship. 
 
 Schettino, who has been held up to abuse and ridicule following the accident, has always acknowledged making mistakes but has said he as not the only one who should be blamed for the tragedy. 
 
 A pre-trial hearing was held in March and investigations also target several other officers and officials of the ships owner, Costa Cruises a unit of the world's largest cruise operator Carnival Corp. 
 
 (Reporting By James Mackenzie; Editing by Andrew Heavens) ||||| Costa Concordia captain 'sorry' for sinking 
 
 Francesco Schettino broke down when asked about the youngest victim of the disaster 
 
 The captain of Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia, which ran aground killing more than 30 people in January, has said he is sorry for the disaster. 
 
 In an interview on Italian TV, Francesco Schettino said he thought constantly about the victims. 
 
 But he insisted others should also share the blame, saying the ship had been under the command of another officer at the time. 
 
 Mr Schettino denies charges including manslaughter and causing a shipwreck. 
 
 The ship struck rocks and capsized near the island of Giglio, off the coast of Tuscany. 
 
 An Italian judge recently lifted Mr Schettino's house arrest, but said he must not leave his hometown, near Naples, while the investigation continues. 
 
 "When there's an accident, it is not just the ship that is identified or the company, the captain is identified and so it's normal that I should apologise as a representative of this system," he told Italy's Canale 5 television. 
 
 The BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says that Mr Schettino appeared tense. 
 
 He said he blamed himself for being "distracted" but said he had not been on the bridge when the ship ran aground. 
 
 The Costa Concordia capsized off the coast of Giglio 
 
 "At that moment, I went up to the deck and ordered the ship to be put on manual navigation and I didn't have command, that's to say being in charge of sailing the ship, that was the officer," he said. 
 
 Following the accident there was speculation that the captain had sailed too close to the island because he was trying to show off his seamanship skills to a young woman on the ship's bridge. 
 
 Mr Schettino denied this, and also denied that the woman had been his lover. 
 
 When asked about the youngest passenger who died - a five-year-old girl - he could not answer and broke down. 
 
 In a letter published recently in Italy's La Corriere della Sera newspaper, Mr Schettino argued that he had saved many lives by steering the stricken vessel into shallow water. 
 
 In a phone call recorded during the rescue operation, a local port authority chief Gregorio de Falco can be heard chastising the captain and telling him to get back on board the ship to help stranded passengers. 
 
 Mr Schettino was arrested shortly afterwards.
– The captain who was "distracted" when the Costa Concordia sailed smack into a rock finally took to TV yesterday to at last say sorry, though it doesn't sound like the passion quotient was too high. "When there's an accident, it's not just the ship that's identified or the company," said Francesco Schettino according to Reuters, which took note of his "pronounced tic" in one eye. "The captain is identified and so it's normal that I should apologize as a representative of this system." And while he did fault the fact that he was distracted, he pointed out that another officer was sailing the ship at the time of the incident. More not-exactly-heart-wrenching comments: "This was a banal accident in which there was a breakdown in the interaction between human beings ... It was as though there was a blackout in everyone's heads and in the instruments." The BBC notes that he did get choked up at one point, though: When asked about the 5-year-old who was among the more than 30 who died, he was unable to speak. Schettino was released from house arrest last week, but faces multiple manslaughter charges.