What Happened to the Italian Cruise Ship?

By Alice Nichols

On Saturday, January 13, 2018, the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia set sail from the port of Rome with 4,200 passengers and crew on board. The destination was supposed to be a Mediterranean cruise but the voyage was soon to end in tragedy. At 8:45 pm local time, the ship struck rocks off Isola del Giglio, an island off the western coast of Italy.

The impact caused a 160-foot gash in the hull and within two hours, the Concordia had capsized as water filled its lower decks. In all, 32 people died in what is considered to be one of the most disastrous maritime accidents in recent years.

Rescue Efforts
Rescue efforts were immediately launched by Italy’s Coast Guard and National Fire Department to save passengers and crew from the sinking ship. Hundreds of passengers were rescued by helicopters and boats from nearby islands while others made their own way to safety by swimming or rafting away from the vessel. The rescue mission continued for days until all of those who were missing were located or accounted for.

Investigation
The cause of the accident was later determined to be negligence on behalf of Captain Francesco Schettino who had steered too close to shore despite warnings from his crew and navigational charts that warned against such behavior. He was later charged with manslaughter and sentenced to 16 years in prison for his role in causing what has been called one of Italy’s worst maritime disasters ever.

Salvage Operation
In order to prevent further environmental damage from fuel leakage, a huge salvage operation was launched shortly after the accident occurred. This involved hundreds of workers who worked around-the-clock for months to right and refloat the Concordia so it could be towed away for dismantling at a shipyard in Genoa, Italy. To accomplish this task workers had to cut away huge sections of steel from both sides of the vessel before it could be towed away from Isola del Giglio in July 2014.

Conclusion
What happened to the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia was truly devastating both for those affected by it as well as its impact on marine life in that area due to fuel leakage during its sinking process. Investigations into what went wrong revealed negligence on behalf of its captain while hundreds worked tirelessly around-the-clock for months afterwards on a large salvage operation so that it could be towed away for dismantling at a shipyard in Genoa, Italy.