Domnica Cemortan, a Moldovan dancer, told an Italian court on Tuesday that she had been Captain Francesco Schettino's lover, Agence France Presse reproted..

Schettino was the captain of the doomed Costa Concordia cruise liner, which crashed on January 13, 2012. He was charged with manslaughter and for abandoning the ship.

Cemortan said the captain had just dined with her minutes before the cruise liner crashed.

"Yes, I had a liaison with Francesco Schettino. I already knew Schettino. I ate with him in the restaurant," Cemortan testified.

Schettino has been accused of "sailing too fast and too close to Giglio island in a risky maneuver to 'salute' the residents, an Italian maritime tradition," The AFP also reported.

The 950-foot Concordia had crashed into rocks on the night of January 13, 2012, with 4,229 people from 70 countries on board, AFP reported.

Schettino, who has been nicknamed "Captain Coward" for heading ashore while passengers remained on board, faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. He had blamed a helmsman from Indonesia for causing the accident after that man misunderstood his order, news reports said.

"I didn't see anything because it was dark. At a certain moment there was silence, and then Schettino started to give orders and I heard one of the orders being misunderstood. He then repeated the order. I didn't feel the crash, but I saw the alarm lights go on," Cemortan also said.