Get on Board: Italian Cruise Ship Meme Goes Viral [PICS] ~ Pare News

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Italian cruise ship Captain Francesco Schettino won’t be able to leave behind the backlash his actions created on the Internet.

“Vada A Bordo, Cazzo!” is the latest meme circulating the web. It translates to “get on board, d__k.”

The phrase came from an exchange Coast Guard Captain Gregorio De Falco had with Schettino via radio as the captain fled the ship: “Listen Schettino, perhaps you have saved yourself from the sea, but I will make you look very bad. I will make you pay for this. Get on board, d__k,” he said.

Schettino abandoned the Costa Concordia after sailing too close to the Italian island of Giglio and hitting a rock, which became lodged in the ship. The ship capsized, leaving thousands of people struggling for hours to make it out alive. So far, 11 deaths have been reported; there are 20 people still unaccounted for.

In the aftermath of the captain’s shameful episode, Italians took to Twitter and Facebook to express their disappointment. By Wednesday, the saying was already on T-shirts and the hashtag #vadaabordocazzo was popular on Twitter.

On Tuesday afternoon Italian time, a Facebook page titled, “Vada a bordo, cazzo” went live. It features the “Keep Calm and Carry On” meme with “vada a bordo cazzo” added. The site already has 3,952 Likes.

Initial reports said the captain had tried to sail too close to the rocky coast in order to allow a waiter to wave to family on the island. The head waiter on the ship told his sister, who lives on his native Giglio, that he would be passing by that evening. The sister posted his whereabouts on her Facebook page. When the ship approached the island, the captain reportedly told the waiter, “Come and see, Antonello, we’re right in front of Giglio” — and maneuvered too close to the rocky coastline.

In court on Tuesday, the Italian captain said he “tripped” into a lifeboat, further igniting anger on Twitter.

Followers of the Facebook page in particular have been placing the “Vada A Bordo, Cazzo!” cry into various photos. Check out the gallery below.