On January 13, 2012, one of the world’s largest cruise ships ran aground off the coast of Italy. The Costa Concordia was traveling from Civitavecchia to Savona with over 4200 passengers and crew when the tragedy occurred.
The Events Leading Up to the Crash
The accident happened shortly after 9:00 P.M. local time when the ship was about 150 meters from Giglio Island, off the Tuscan Coast. It appears that the captain, Francesco Schettino, had decided to deviate from the planned route and sail closer to Giglio Island in order to “salute” people onshore. As he attempted to turn away from shore at full speed, he misjudged how close he was and ran the ship aground on a reef just outside of Giglio’s harbor.
The impact of hitting the reef caused a large gash in the side of the ship which made it unstable and begin taking on water. To make matters worse, it caused a power blackout that prevented any emergency announcements or alarms from sounding until it was too late for many passengers to evacuate safely.
The Aftermath
The Costa Concordia quickly started sinking and all passengers were ordered to evacuate immediately. The crew did their best to help get everyone off safely but due to poor communication and panic, many were left behind or unable to find lifeboats in time. In total, 32 people lost their lives in this tragedy including one passenger who had been missing until his body was found 2 years later inside one of the shipwreck’s cabins.
After several days of searching for survivors and recovering bodies, Italian authorities declared that no more survivors would be found and that they had recovered all bodies that could be located within reachable areas of the wreckage.
Investigation Results
It became clear early on that Schettino’s decision had caused this accident so an investigation was launched into what exactly happened that night on board the Costa Concordia. After interviewing witnesses and examining evidence from both parties involved in this tragedy, it became apparent that not only did Schettino deviate from his planned route but also he failed to properly inform his crew of his intentions which resulted in chaos during evacuation efforts as they were unprepared for such an emergency situation.
In February 2015 Schettino was sentenced by an Italian court to 16 years in prison for causing this accident due to his negligence as well as abandoning his post while passengers were still evacuating which put many lives at risk who could have been saved if he stayed onboard until everyone else was off safely.
Conclusion
What Cruise Ship Ran Aground in Italy? The answer is: The Costa Concordia ran aground off Italy’s Tuscan coast on January 13th 2012 due Captain Francesco Schettino’s negligence by deviating from its planned route and failing to properly inform his crew about his intentions during evacuation efforts resulting in 32 people losing their lives during this tragedy.