On the evening of January 13, 2012, the Costa Concordia cruise ship ran aground off the coast of Giglio Island, Italy. The ship was on its first voyage of the year and was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew members at the time.
The accident happened when the captain, Francesco Schettino, made an unscheduled deviation from the planned route in order to salute a retired captain who lived on Giglio Island. As a result of this maneuver, the ship struck a submerged rock and began taking on water.
The impact caused one of the cabins to flood, resulting in power loss and loss of control over the vessel.
Within two hours of hitting the rock, the Costa Concordia began sinking slowly but steadily towards its port side. The captain ordered those aboard to abandon ship and with help from emergency services, all passengers and crew were rescued without any major injuries or fatalities.
Salvage Efforts
In order to salvage what remained of Costa Concordia, a complex operation involving hundreds of workers and engineers from around the world was launched in July 2012. It was estimated that it would take up to 10 months for Costa Concordia to be removed from its resting place.
The salvage operation was successfully completed in July 2014 after almost two years of work. This included righting the ship by rotating it upright using a series of pulleys and cables as well as refloating it so it could be towed away for dismantling.
Current Situation
Costa Concordia is currently being dismantled at Genoa’s port in Italy since August 2014.
Dismantling is expected to take several months as all hazardous materials must be removed before it can be scrapped.
Conclusion
What happened to Cruise Ship Concordia? On January 13th 2012, it ran aground off Giglio island resulting in power loss and flooding in one cabin which caused it to sink slowly towards its port side. All passengers were rescued without any major injuries or fatalities thanks to help from emergency services. After almost two years an extensive salvage operation involving hundreds of workers was launched which successfully righted and refloated the ship before being towed away for dismantling at Genoa’s port where is currently being scrapped.