What Happened to the Captain of the Costa Concordia Cruise Ship?

By Alice Nichols

On January 13, 2012, a tragedy unfolded off the coast of Isola del Giglio, Italy. The Costa Concordia cruise ship was sailing too close to the island and ran aground, capsizing and killing 32 people and injuring hundreds more. The captain of the ship, Francesco Schettino, was blamed for the accident due to his negligence and recklessness in navigating the vessel.

On July 23, 2013, Schettino was convicted of multiple charges including manslaughter and causing a maritime accident. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison as well as being fined 10 million euros. He was also banned from ever working on boats again.

The court found that Schettino had deviated from the ship’s planned route in order to perform an unannounced “saluting maneuver” near Isola del Giglio for the benefit of a retired captain who had been invited on board as a guest. This reckless decision caused the cruise ship to be positioned too close to shore and it struck rocks that were hidden beneath the surface of the water which punctured multiple holes in its hull.

In response to his conviction, Schettino has continued to deny any wrongdoing or negligence on his part claiming that he is being framed as a scapegoat by Costa Cruises which owns the Costa Concordia. He blames them for failing to provide adequate navigation equipment or training for their captains. He has also appealed his conviction twice but both appeals have been denied.

Conclusion:

Francesco Schettino is currently serving his sentence of 16 years in prison as a result of his negligence that caused the sinking of the Costa Concordia Cruise Ship off Isola del Giglio in 2012. He has publicly denied any wrongdoing but has been unable to convince Italian courts otherwise through two separate appeals which were both denied.