On January 13th, 2012 the Italian cruise ship, the Costa Concordia, crashed off the coast of Isola del Giglio in Tuscany. It was one of the deadliest maritime disasters in recent years, with 32 people losing their lives. It was a devastating tragedy that had a lasting impact on those affected and on maritime safety regulations.
The Costa Concordia was a 290-meter-long luxury cruise ship owned by Costa Crociere and operated by Captain Francesco Schettino. On that fateful night, it hit rocks just off the Tuscan island of Giglio while sailing close to shore to perform a “salute” as part of its regular route from Civitavecchia to Savona.
The Immediate Impact
The impact of the crash was felt immediately by those on board. In total, 4,229 people were onboard—many of whom were left scared and confused as they attempted to evacuate the stricken vessel.
As officials scrambled to rescue survivors, dozens were left missing and presumed dead. The search for survivors went on for days until it was officially declared that 32 people had lost their lives in this tragedy.
The Recovery Effort
In an effort to salvage what remained of the vessel and its cargo, an extensive recovery operation began immediately after the disaster occurred. This included pumping out thousands of tons of fuel from inside the vessel and removing pieces of debris from inside and outside its hull. After months of extensive recovery efforts, some parts of the ship were removed from its final resting place and taken away for scrap metal recycling—a process that lasted until 2017 when all parts were finally cleared away.
The Aftermath
Once all debris had been cleared away, investigations began into what caused the disaster in order to prevent similar occurrences in future. The findings showed that human error was largely responsible for this terrible accident due to negligence on behalf of Captain Schettino who sailed too close to shore and failed to take proper precautions when steering his vessel into danger. As a result, he was convicted and sentenced with 16 years in prison for manslaughter charges related to this incident.
Conclusion: In conclusion, ‘the Costa Concordia’ was the name of the cruise ship that crashed in Italy on 13th January 2012 causing 32 deaths as a result of human error due to negligence on behalf of Captain Francesco Schettino.