Costa Concordia disaster

Costa Concordia disaster

Aground with rigid lifeboats in foreground and inflatables hanging from the side of the ship
Date	13 January 2012; 12 years ago (2012-01-13)
Time	9:45 p.m. CET (19:45 UTC)
Location	Tyrrhenian Sea Off of Isola del Giglio, Tuscany
Coordinates	42°21′55″N 10°55′18″E / 42.36528°N 10.92167°E / 42.36528; 10.92167
Type	Ship grounding
Cause	Struck a rock while deviating from planned course
Participants	4,252: 3,206 passengers 1,023 crew members
Deaths	33 32 on board 27 passengers 5 crew members 1 during salvage salvage diver
Non-fatal injuries	64
Missing	None
Captain	Francesco Schettino
Operator	Costa Crociere
Salvage	Fuel and oil extraction: March 2012 Righting: September 2013 Refloated and towed: July 2014 Scrapping finished in: July 2017

On 13 January 2012, the seven-year-old Costa Cruises vessel Costa Concordia was on the first leg of a cruise around the Mediterranean Sea when it deviated from its planned route at Isola del Giglio, Tuscany in order to perform a sail-by salute, sailed closer to the island than intended, and struck a rock formation on the sea floor. This caused the ship to list and then to partially sink, landing unevenly on an underwater ledge. Although a six-hour rescue effort brought most of the passengers ashore, 32 people died: 27 passengers and 5 crew. A member of the salvage team also died following injuries received during the recovery operation.

An investigation focused on shortcomings in the procedures followed by Costa Concordia's crew and the actions of her captain, Francesco Schettino, who left the ship prematurely. He left about 300 passengers on board the sinking vessel, most of whom were rescued by helicopter or motorboats in the area. Schettino was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Despite receiving its own share of criticism, Costa Cruises and its parent company, Carnival Corporation, did not face criminal charges.

Costa Concordia was declared a "constructive total loss" by the cruise line's insurer, and her salvage was "one of the biggest maritime salvage operations". On 16 September 2013, the parbuckle salvage of the ship began, and by the early hours of 17 September, the ship was set upright on her underwater cradle. In July 2014, the ship was refloated using sponsons (flotation tanks) welded to her sides, and was towed 320 kilometres (200 mi) to her home port of Genoa for scrapping, which was completed in July 2017.

The total cost of the disaster, including victims' compensation, refloating, towing and scrapping costs, is estimated at $2 billion, more than three times the ship's $612 million construction cost. Costa Cruises offered compensation to passengers (to a limit of €11,000 per person) to pay for all damages, including the value of the cruise; one third of the survivors took the offer.