An echo sounder that tracks water depth had been switched off before cruise liner Costa Concordia struck a rock and capsized off the Italian coast in January, witnesses at a pre-trial hearing said yesterday.
A panel of court experts said the sonar device had been off at the time of the shipwreck.
The ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, is accused of the manslaughter of 32 people, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship.
He has admitted to making mistakes, but says he should not be the only one blamed.
The ship's operator, Costa Cruises, a unit of US-based Carnival Corp, has placed the blame squarely on Schettino and said nothing discussed in the pre-trial hearing so far concerns its own organisation. The accident triggered a chaotic night-time evacuation of more than 4000 passengers and crew on the rocky shoreline of the Tuscan island of Giglio.
Thirty bodies have been recovered from the wreck and another two people remain unaccounted for.
Costa Cruises told the hearing the ship had been equipped with more radar systems than needed, and that enough of them had been in operation to meet legal requirements.
Giuliano Leuzzi, a lawyer for consumer rights group Codacons, said more information was needed about the ship's equipment.
He added: "All these aspects, had they been functional, may possibly have made up for the negative effects of Captain Schettino's actions and helped avoid the loss of human lives."
The ship remains on its side, balanced on a rocky shelf in full view of the harbour. Hundreds of divers and salvage engineers have begun the delicate operation of preparing the hulk for removal.
The pre-trial hearing –which was closed to the public – will decide whether or not the charges against Schettino requested by prosecutors should stand and the case go to a full trial.
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