The cruise ship Costa Concordia, owned and operated by Costa Crociere, ran aground off the coast of Italy on January 13th, 2012. The accident occurred when the captain of the vessel deviated from its pre-planned route and sailed too close to Giglio Island. This caused the vessel to collide with an underwater rock formation, resulting in a large gash along the port side of the vessel.
The incident resulted in 30 people losing their lives and one person still unaccounted for. Over 4,200 passengers and crew were onboard at the time, many of whom were evacuated safely. However, due to the angle at which it capsized and the force of impact, some passengers were unable to escape.
The Costa Concordia has since been removed from the seabed, with a complex operation taking place over a period of three years. The entire operation was carried out at a cost of $2 billion US dollars.
Investigation
A full investigation into the incident was conducted by Italian authorities. It concluded that there had been multiple failures on behalf of both human crew members as well as safety systems on board. The captain was found guilty of manslaughter in 2015 and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Lessons Learned
The tragedy has highlighted a need for better safety systems and procedures when it comes to operating large vessels such as cruise ships. Many changes have been made in order to prevent similar incidents occurring again.
Conclusion
In summary, what cruise ship sank recently is Costa Concordia which happened on January 13th 2012 off Italy’s coast due to human error and system failure. This incident resulted in 30 deaths and 4200 passengers being evacuated safely but certain passengers were unable to escape due to its angle when it capsized. This has led to an investigation with lessons learned for more safety systems for large vessels such as cruise ships.