10 years later, Costa Concordia disaster haunts survivors Los Angeles Times

Table Of Content

• Costa Concordia captain blames helmsman for cruise ship disaster
• Regulatory and industry response
• Wrecked Costa Concordia liner makes its final journey
• Key dates in Costa Concordia shipwreck, trial and cleanup
• ‘Nothing left’: After California Yacht Club fire, residents mourn loss of a beloved spot
• Costa Concordia disaster

Ortelli was later on hand when, in September 2013, the 115,000-ton, 1,000-foot long cruise ship was righted vertical off its seabed graveyard in an extraordinary feat of engineering. “I imagine it like a nail stuck to the wall that marks that date, as a before and after,” he said, recounting how he joined the rescue effort that night, helping pull ashore the dazed, injured and freezing passengers from lifeboats. Prosecutors have alleged that Schettino steered the ship too dangerously close to the island in a publicity stunt for Costa Concordia SpA, the Italian cruise ship company. On the night of Jan. 13, 2012, the Concordia hit a jagged reef, which gashed its hull on one side, causing the ship to rapidly take on water just off the island of Giglio in the Mediterranean Sea. Islanders can't wait to see the ship's removal, but it's an enormous salvage operation. The Costa Concordia is two-and-a-half football fields long, says Nick Sloane, the senior salvage master for the project.

Costa Concordia captain blames helmsman for cruise ship disaster

Monica, a German passenger who was in the cruise liner's theatre when the ship began to suffer problems, said it was hard to reach the lifeboats. 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. Ananias and her family declined Costa’s initial $14,500 compensation offered to each passenger and sued Costa, a unit of US-based Carnival Corp., to try to cover the cost of their medical bills and therapy for the post-traumatic stress they have suffered. But after eight years in the US and then Italian court system, they lost their case.

Regulatory and industry response

"It was as if there had been a breakdown in people's heads as well as in the instruments." The body of Indian waiter Russel Rebello is still missing and there will be a search for his remains when the ship is dismantled. Engineers last week used vast air tanks attached to the ship's sides to float the liner, which rose above the waves deck by deck to reveal gaping windows, a rust-tainted bow and the faded Costa Concordia emblem on its flanks. Objects floating free such as suitcases, clothes and furniture will be caught in a huge net while infrared sensors will be used to detect possible oil leaks at night. A 17-person team of salvage workers will be on the Concordia itself during the journey. South African salvage master Nick Sloane - who has described removing the ship as the "biggest challenge" of a career that has taken him to six continents and two warzones - said he was ready to "wave goodbye to Giglio".

Wrecked Costa Concordia liner makes its final journey

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. The calamity caused changes in the cruise industry like carrying more lifejackets and holding emergency drills before leaving port.

Key dates in Costa Concordia shipwreck, trial and cleanup

"And we're dealing with 60,000 tons of weight, on rocks right on an exposed parts of island." "And a ship with more than 4,000 people on board cannot be put under the command of such an amateur." Six months after one of the biggest passenger shipwrecks in recent history, relatives of the dead attended a memorial service Friday near the site of the disaster. Dubbed Italy's "most hated man" by the Italian media after the disaster, he found himself in hot water again on Tuesday after photographs emerged of him partying on the island of Ischia while the final preparations were being made to tow away the wreck. The anniversary comes as the cruise industry, shut down in much of the world for months because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is once again in the spotlight because of virus outbreaks that threaten passenger safety. Thirty-two people died when the ship slammed into a reef and capsized off the Tuscan island of Giglio.

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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. 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.

‘Nothing left’: After California Yacht Club fire, residents mourn loss of a beloved spot

Experts estimate that that process could take as long as two-and-a-half years, CNN writes. Air was pumped slowly into 30 tanks or "sponsons" attached to both sides of the 290-metre, 114,500-tonne Concordia to expel the water inside, raising it two metres (6.5 feet) off the artificial platform it has rested on since it was righted in September. The passengers, whose infections were found through random testing, were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms, according to the Port of San Francisco. Ten years ago the Costa Concordia ran aground off the Tuscan island of Giglio, killing 32 people and entwining the lives of others forever. The struggle reflects the difficult reality of an industry battered by the pandemic. "I think it’s the panic, the feeling of panic, is what’s carried through over 10 years," Ian Donoff, who was on the cruise with his wife Janice for their honeymoon, told Cobiella.

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10 years later, Costa Concordia survivors share their stories from doomed cruise ship.

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Pablo Lazaro, a 66-year-old Spanish survivor who had been on the cruise with his wife and stepson, said the terror of that night - with people throwing themselves into the icy sea in a bid to survive - would never leave him. The crash tore a massive gash in its hull and the ship veered sharply as the water poured in, eventually keeling over and sparking a panicky evacuation. The length of three football fields, the crippled vessel will first be manoeuvred into position by British and Spanish tug boats in a complex operation beginning at 0630 GMT (2.30pm Singapore time). “It was a night that, in addition to being a tragedy, had a beautiful side because the response of the people was a spontaneous gesture that was appreciated around the world,” Ortelli said. "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." Ten years after the deadly Costa Concordia cruise line disaster in Italy, survivors still vividly remember scenes of chaos they say were like something straight out of the movie "Titanic."

Costa Concordia disaster

Photos: Raising the Costa Concordia - The Atlantic

Photos: Raising the Costa Concordia.

Posted: Tue, 17 Sep 2013 07:00:00 GMT [source]

On 22 November 2008, Costa Concordia suffered damage to her bow when high winds over the Sicilian city of Palermo pushed the ship against its dock. There were no injuries and repairs started soon after.[16][17][18]Initial repairs were completed by the December following the incident, but dents were still visible. Mr Metcalf, from Dorset, told the BBC his daughter had phoned to say she was safe but that she had feared she would have to jump into the sea. She said blankets and clothes were provided for those who arrived on the island, while churches and schools were opened to ensure that people had a roof over their head. "Everything happened really fast. Everybody tried to get a life boat and people started to panic. A lot of people were falling down the stairs and some were hurt because things fell on them.

Here are some key dates in the saga, including the trial of the captain and the remarkable engineering feat to right the liner from its side so it could be towed away for scrap. 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.

Rescue teams searched for survivors and helicopters evacuated the last 50 people on the deck. "Usually there are 700 people on the island at this time of year, so receiving 4,000 people in the middle of the night wasn't easy," she said. "We were on the same level as the water so some people started to swim because they weren't able to get on the lifeboats," said Mr Costa.

Following the conclusion of the righting operation, the ship was kept on the platform while further inspections were made and the starboard sponsons attached. "Everybody was trying to get on the boats at the same time. When people had to get on the lifeboats they were pushing each other. It was a bit chaotic. We were trying to keep passengers calm but it was just impossible. Nobody knew what was going on." Mr Ordona said his colleagues and passengers were waiting to use lifeboats but the change in the direction the boat was sinking prompted them to seek lifeboats on the other side of the ship.

Prosecutors blamed a delayed evacuation order and conflicting instructions given by crew for the chaos that ensued as passengers scrambled to get off the ship. Arnold Donald, chief executive of international cruiseline company Carnival, told Fox Business in June that the company has "far more demand than we have ships available to supply right now." A vice president of Legambiente Liguria told Fortune the organization is considering forming a petition to ask the Italian government to prevent cruise ship operators from parking their ships near Italy's most scenic locations. In a first step to prevent pollution of the shore and assist in a refloat the ship, its oil and fuel tanks were emptied.