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Bells rang out earlier Thurday in the same Giglio church that opened its doors that freezing night and took in hundreds of passengers who abandoned ship and reached shore in lifeboats. Some had climbed off the lopsided liner on rope ladders after it flipped onto its side; others were plucked from the decks by rescue helicopters. More than 4,000 passengers and crew were onboard the doomed Costa Concordia when it struck rocks after Schettino allegedly changed course in order to carry out a sail-by salute of a Mediterranean island to impress holidaymakers.
In search of wildlife on a one-day cruise off the coast of Cornwall, UK
Ester Percossi recalled being thrown to the ground in the dining room by the initial impact of the reef gashing into the hull “like an earthquake.” The lights went out, and bottles, glasses and plates flew off the tables. “It was right to be here, to pay tribute to those victims, but the primary motivation is to thank and greet the people who helped me that night, from Giglio,” said survivor Luciano Castro. “For us islanders, when we remember some event, we always refer to whether it was before or after the Concordia,” said Matteo Coppa, who was 23 and fishing on the jetty when the darkened Concordia listed toward shore and then collapsed onto its side in the water. Some other crew members also face charges, as do management figures from the company Costa Cruises, which owns the ship that is still lying on its side and not expected to be removed until September at the earliest.
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During this time, work also began to remove the vessel in what was the largest maritime salvage operation in history. It was not until September 2013 that the 114,000-ton Concordia was finally righted. The 19-hour process involved specially built underwater platforms, cranes, and some 500 people. In July 2014 the Concordia—outfitted with a number of steel containers serving as flotation devices—was towed to Genoa, Italy, where it was dismantled for scrap.
Environmental concerns and salvage
Schettino, 52, has insisted he is innocent of all charges and that the rocks were not marked on his charts. He says he should be thanked as his actions in steering the ship back towards the port at Giglio saved hundreds of lives. It goes on to list 157 passengers who are suffering from post-traumatic stress following the disaster.
But that version of events did not withstand the scrutiny of the court. It took a massive operation and $1.5 billion to refloat the Costa Concordia cruise ship. The giant craft will now be towed 200 miles across open ocean before being scrapped.
10 years later, Costa Concordia disaster vivid for survivors - The Associated Press
10 years later, Costa Concordia disaster vivid for survivors.
Posted: Wed, 12 Jan 2022 08:00:00 GMT [source]
For Concordia survivor Georgia Ananias, the COVID-19 infections are just the latest evidence that passenger safety still isn’t a top priority for the cruise ship industry. Passengers aboard the Concordia were largely left on their own to find life jackets and a functioning lifeboat after the captain steered the ship close too shore in a stunt. He then delayed an evacuation order until it was too late, with lifeboats unable to lower because the ship was listing too heavily. In the final days of a trial, which began in July 2013 and included more than 69 hearings, attorneys for Schettino described him as a scapegoat who had been vilified but deserved to be treated like a hero.
Regulatory and industry response
Even as the crew began to frantically assess the damage and start the emergency diesel generator, Schettino ordered them to tell passengers that the ship had simply suffered an electrical outage and that everything was under control. Some reassured passengers stayed in their cabins and later lost their lives. The same erroneous information was given to the harbour master at Civitavecchia. But passengers on the decks above did not initially have reason to be afraid. Instead, he said he did it as a favour to the ship’s head waiter, who was a native of Giglio, and to give his passengers a beautiful view of the island. That night, after dining with Cemortan, Schettino invited her to the bridge of the cruise liner, where he took command of the vessel.
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The 70-metre gash allowed water to pour in and the ship eventually capsized and came to rest on its side at a location known as Seagull Point, just outside the harbour on the island of Giglio in January last year, hours into a seven-day cruise. Following the conclusion of the righting operation, the ship was kept on the platform while further inspections were made and the starboard sponsons attached. In a first step to prevent pollution of the shore and assist in a refloat the ship, its oil and fuel tanks were emptied.
A Questionable Evacuation
People were left to clamber down a rope ladder over a distance equivalent to 11 stories. Costa sent representatives to the ceremonies and issued a statement saying the company’s thoughts were with the victims and their relatives. Costa noted that since the disaster, it undertaken the massive operation to right the ship, remove it, and restore the damaged seabed.
Everything on board is potential evidence in multiple lawsuits, starting with the criminal cases against the captain, who is already charged with manslaughter. The youngest victim of the disaster was a five-year-old girl named Dayana Arlotti, who drowned with her father after they were told there was no space in a lifeboat. De Falco became such a hero that, when it emerged more than a year later that he had been transferred out of operational service into a desk job, his apparent mistreatment created a new spate of soul-searching in Italy. Some suggested the country did not know how to reward people who showed good character.
For Concordia survivors, the COVID-19 infections on cruise ships are just another indication that passenger safety still isn’t a top industry priority. Concordia passengers were largely left on their own to find life jackets and a functioning lifeboat. Because of the delayed evacuation order, many lifeboats couldn’t be lowered because the ship was already on its side. Prosecutors blamed the delayed evacuation order and conflicting instructions given by crew for the chaos that ensued as passengers scrambled to get off the ship. The captain, Francesco Schettino, is serving a 16-year prison sentence for manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning a ship before all the passengers and crew had evacuated. Schettino argued that he fell into a lifeboat because of how the ship was listing to one side, but this argument proved unconvincing.
In 2015, a court found Schettino guilty of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck, abandoning ship before passengers and crew were evacuated and lying to authorities about the disaster. In addition to Schettino, Ferrarini and Rusli Bin, the other people who received convictions for their role in the disaster were Cabin Service Director Manrico Giampedroni, First Officer Ciro Ambrosio and Third Officer Silvia Coronica. GIGLIO, Italy (AP) — Ten years have passed since the Costa Concordia cruise ship slammed into a reef and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio.
