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The sad anniversary comes as the cruise industry, shut down in much of the world for months because of the coronavirus pandemic, is once again in the spotlight because of COVID-19 outbreaks that threaten passenger safety. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control last month warned people across-the-board not to go on cruises, regardless of their vaccination status, because of the risks of infection. The Concordia was supposed to take passengers on a seven-day Italian cruise from Civitavecchia to Savona. But when it deviated from its planned path to sail closer to the island of Giglio, the ship struck a reef known as the Scole Rocks. The impact damaged the ship, allowing water to seep in and putting the 4,229 people on board in danger.
Costa Cruises and its parent companies
GIGLIO, Italy — Ten years have passed since the Costa Concordia cruise ship slammed into a reef and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio. But for the passengers on board and the residents who welcomed them ashore, the memories of that harrowing, freezing night remain vividly etched into their minds. Evidence introduced in Schettino’s trial suggests that the safety of his passengers and crew wasn’t his number one priority as he assessed the damage to the Concordia.
Ship remnants and artifacts
The impact and water leakage caused an electrical blackout on the ship, and a recorded phone call with Costa Crociere’s crisis coordinator, Roberto Ferrarini, shows he tried to downplay and cover up his actions by saying the blackout was what actually caused the accident. Ten years have passed since the Costa Concordia cruise ship slammed into a reef and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio. 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. Despite receiving its own share of criticism, Costa Cruises and its parent company, Carnival Corporation, did not face criminal charges.
Wrecked Costa Concordia liner makes its final journey
He said children and women were given priority when it came to allocating places on lifeboats, but the system proved to be difficult to implement because many men "weren't accepting this" because they wanted to remain together as a family, prompting "huge confusion". Cruise ship shop worker Fabio Costa said when people realised there was a serious problem, there were scenes of desperation. Then the ship rolled again, now listing to the right, and the captain ordered the ship to be abandoned. A 2020 graduate of Kent State University with a Bachelor's degree in Journalism, Aaron has worked as an assigning editor and reporter for KSU's student-run newspaper The Kent Stater, as well as a News Intern with WKSU Public Radio, Kent State's local NPR affiliate. In a statement, Codacons said the award was a "very important victory" since it showed the "total incongruity" of Costa's compensation package to most of the victims. The family were unsure whether to go back to Giglio for a ceremony Thursday and a candle-lit procession marking 10 years since the disaster.
And on Thursday, as he arrived for the commemorative Mass, he received an award from the Civil Protection Agency. The Costa Concordia, a vast, luxury liner, had run aground off Italy's Giglio island and was toppling over into freezing waters, in a disaster that would leave 32 people dead. It will also honour the 4,200 survivors and the residents of Giglio who took in passengers and crew, offering clothes and shelter until passengers could return to the mainland.
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.
Costa Concordia disaster
Eyewitnesses have described scenes of chaos on board the Italian cruise ship the Costa Concordia, which has run aground off Italy, killing at least five people. Time-lapse video shows the raising of the wrecked Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia from the underwater platform it has been resting on for the past year. 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. Kevin Rebello had become close to many Giglio residents and rescuers during the months that divers searched for his brother.
An MSC spokesperson explained to NPR that the cruise ship is now being moored at the Marittima terminal and has begun passenger operations. A politician with the Italian Left party, Nicola Fratoianni, even went as far as to call cruise ships "steel monsters" which "risk carnage" in the seaside town. Schettino was convicted of multiple manslaughter as well as abandoning ship after leaving before all the passengers had reached safety. The lifeboats wouldn't drop down because the ship was tilted on its side, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded on the side of the ship for hours in the cold.
Costa Concordia is gone, but horror lingers 10 years later
Images shot later by the coastguard would show divers in the sunken restaurant, battling through flotsam, searching for victims. Schettino, later sentenced to 16 years for the shipwreck, delayed sounding the alarm. Ship horns will sound and church bells ring at 9.45pm to mark the moment the liner, owned by Costa Crociere, subsidiary of US based giant Carnival, struck an outcrop, after captain Francesco Schettino ordered a sail-by "salute" to the Tuscan island.
He appealed the verdict, but it was upheld in May 2017; Schettino began serving his sentence shortly thereafter. After the ship hit the reef, the engine room flooded and generators failed, causing a power outage that sent the ship adrift until it eventually crashed offshore and capsized. Evidence presented at the trial showed Schettino downplayed the severity of the situation in communications with the Coast Guard and delayed an evacuation order, then abandoned ship before all the passengers and crew were off.
What happened to the Costa Concordia? Cruise.Blog - Cruise Blog
What happened to the Costa Concordia? Cruise.Blog.
Posted: Thu, 11 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
In a first step to prevent pollution of the shore and assist in a refloat the ship, its oil and fuel tanks were emptied. “Every one of us here has a tragic memory from then,” said Mario Pellegrini, 59, who was deputy mayor in 2012 and was the first civilian to climb onto the cruise ship after it struck the rocks near the lighthouses at the port entrance. "What happened in the port of Venice is confirmation of what we have been saying for some time. Cruise ships must not sail down the Giudecca. We have been working on moving them for months now ... and are nearing a solution." As can be heard in the videos, those aboard the ship and on shore were left wondering aloud what might come of the shipwreck.
A memorial service was held on Giglio on Thursday (Jan 13) to mark 10 years since the disaster, a wreath was thrown into the water in memory of the victims and a candle-lit procession planned. A decade after that harrowing night, the survivors are grateful to have made it out alive. None of the survivors who spoke with Cobiella have been on a cruise since that day. "I felt like (my daughters) were going to get trampled, and putting my arms around them and just holding them together and letting the sea of people go by us." According to the Genoa daily newspaper Il Secolo XIX there were some 4,000 passengers in all aboard the ship, which arrived in Genoa from Marseille. Other positive passengers will be disembarked in Civitavecchia, a port that serves Rome, or in Palermo, Sicily, it added.
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