Disturbing new audio has emerged from Italy revealing that the captain of the doomed cruise ship radioed the port insisting the Costa Concordia had simply had a blackout, a full 30 minutes after the vessel had crashed into a rocky reef.

An unidentified crew member -- who the AP has named as captain, Francesco Schettino -- can be heard radioing to Livorno port officials at 10:12 p.m. on Friday night, telling staff that he was checking out reasons for the blackout.

What he doesn't reveal is that the massive vessel -- which was carrying 4,200 passengers, including 120 Americans -- had already capsized on its side, reported the Washington Times.