On January 13, 2012, just three hours after departing the port of Civitavecchia near Rome on a week-long voyage through Italy, the Italian cruise ship, Costa Concordia, struck a reef off the coast of Isola del Giglio, leaving at least 16 dead, 16 missing, and 64 injured.
The captain of the Carnival Corporation ship, Francesco Schettino, apparently deviated from the ship’s originally programmed route in order to treat the people on Giglio Island to a spectacle of a passing cruise ship. Another reason for this sail past Giglio could have been to honor retired Captain Mario Palombo. Or perhaps the maitre d’hotel of the ship, who was born on the island, wanted to visit his homeland.
Minutes after the impact of the crash, the reef, Le Scole, tore a 160-foot gash into the ship’s port side. After the impact, the ship continued north toward the harbor. Over 30 minutes after the initial damage, the ship turned south toward the harbor. Minutes later, the vessel finally came to a rest at a 70° angle within 150 feet of water.
Watch the video above to have an inside look on the damage within the Costa Concordia.
In the first contact made between Italian port officials and the Costa Concordia, the crew insisted that the ship only suffered from an electrical black-out and that everything was under control. At this time, passengers were told to return to their cabins. About 15 minutes later, Captain Schettino ordered dinner, taking little to no notice of the urgent situation that could potentially, and in fact did, evolve. An hour later, the captain, who should have been the last to leave the ship, left the ship before any passenger. He later stated that he “fell and tripped into a life boat.”
After the captain had left the boat, it was midnight, and people were beginning to panic. Some passengers were left in the cold for hours, water creeping up to their ankles, waiting to be lowered into crowded lifeboats. About 100 others, growing increasingly impatient, jumped from the ship and tried to swim to shore.
About three hours later, evacuation was complete. A majority of the passengers had been evacuated to mainland, while many, whose fate was unknown until sunrise, still remained missing- the search for these victims was put on hold until daylight.
Captain Schettino, who had worked for Costa Cruises for 11 years, along with Ciro Ambrosio, the ship’s first officer, were both accused of and arrested for manslaughter and for abandoning ship, the latter being a much more serious offense that could land the captain up to 12 years in prison. A huge amount of shame is appropriately making its way to the captain, for someone working for this cruise line for over a decade has a reputation to uphold not only for himself but also for the larger company.
Though this sudden disaster seems to be an event which will deter passengers from boarding the Costa Concordia, analysts say that it will not sink Carnival Corp.’s profits as the world’s largest cruise company.
Watch the video below, showing a conversation between Captain Schettino and Captain De Falco, to further understand his situation.