Cruise Liner Costa Concordia Aground in Italy - 30 Dead & 2 Unaccounted For

[MuffyBee]

http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Photos+Costa+Concordia+salvage+gets+underway/7792478/story.html
Photos: Costa Concordia salvage gets underway
January 8, 2013

Photos at Link

[MuffyBee]

http://www.metro.us/newyork/national/article/1159355--costa-concordia-disaster-lawyers-to-take-action-against-ship-s-owners
Costa Concordia disaster: Lawyers to take action against ship’s owners
January 9, 2013

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John Arthur Eaves Jr., an American lawyer representing more than 150 passengers from 10 countries believes Costa Cruises is faced with multi-million dollar compensation bill. He has described the 11,000 euros ($14,350) in compensation to each of the more than 3,000 passengers aboard the stricken vessel as "peanuts".

The legal team representing the victims say Costa Cruises must be held negligent due to the tradition of "bowing" (taking the ship close to the island's shore to salute locals).

"[Costa Cruises] knew the practice of navigation close to the coast because it was in the public domain but still such course changes must be recorded in the captain's logbook," the lawyers said.

Ship staff under investigation are also putting blame on Costa Cruises, including Paolo Mattesi, executive of the company. Mattesi said the passengers' security "was not provided by any officer with a formal delegation of security features".

According to a survey of the port of Livorno, two of the ship’s radars (one compulsory, another optional) were out of order. This would not affect the dynamics of the accident but such failures should be reported to the maritime authorities and this did not happen, the survey concluded.
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This lawsuit is a separate action to the criminal proceedings against Captain Francesco Schettino later this year. Prosecutors' 50,000-page investigation against Schettino is reportedly the largest such case in Italian legal history. Schettino faces charges of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship, with prosecutors calling for a 20-year prison sentence.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.theweek.co.uk/europe/costa-concordia/50908/costa-concordia-uk-directors-be-named-responsible-capsize
Costa Concordia: UK directors to be named responsible for capsize
January 9, 2013

LAWYERS representing families of passengers who died when the Costa Concordia cruise liner capsized a year ago this week are filing a criminal complaint against British and American directors of the ship's parent company, Carnival.

New evidence to be deposited in the long-running Costa Concordia case alleges that criminal responsibility for the fatal shipwreck doesn't stop with Captain Francesco Schettino, but goes all the way to the top.

British and American directors of both Carnival plc, and its American holding company, Carnival Corporation, are among those named in a criminal complaint being readied for filing in Grosseto, Italy, by a Milan law firm.

The complaint calls for Italian prosecutors to widen the number of persons being investigated in connection with the accident on 13 January 2012 that left 32 dead and more than 4,000 passengers and crew grounded on the small Italian island of Giglio.
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Carnival's directors "not only tolerated, but promoted and publicised" the risky ship salutes of Giglio and other tourist sites as a convenient, effective marketing tool, argues the complaint being filed by a Milan lawyer, who told The Week that it is ready for depositing in Grosseto. It just awaits more signatures from passengers and crew.

The lead Grosseto prosecutor completed his investigation of the disaster in late December, triggering a grace period for additional witnesses and testimony to be deposited before final charges are pressed.

The complaint being prepared in Milan will be under-signed by a number of clients represented by legal firms from outside Italy.

According to a summary reviewed by The Week, new evidence includes a report from the Port Authority of Livorno showing that "neither Costa nor Carnival ever cared about controlling or eventually preventing said practice," of ship salutes. While the complaint acknowledges that Captain Schettino mismanaged the manoeuvre causing the ship's collision, it maintains that the salutes were a regular custom that the ship's crews were encouraged to perform to make passengers happy and boost profits.

In addition, the complaint alleges crew were not familiar with ship safety features, did not speak either Italian nor English and had expired certificates. Some safety devices were installed in the wrong way and not all radars worked correctly, it alleges.

It also cites a first officer's testimony that despite being encouraged to sail close to Giglio, the ship did not have accurate nautical charts for doing so. The Costa Concordia had a 1:100,000 scale map for open seas, not the 1:20,000 scale map for coastal sailing, on which the rocks that the ship hit are marked.

"Those who decided, enacted, tolerated and promoted such business-politics, i.e. the members of the board of directors of Costa and Carnival, have to be deemed, jointly with the Captain, culpable and liable for the criminal actions which eventually caused the grounding of the Costa Concordia," reads the complaint.

Specifically, it names 14 Carnival directors. They include: Sir John Parker, chairman of Anglo American plc and vice chairman of DP World Limited; Sir Jonathon Band, former First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff; Arnold Donald, president and CEO of the Executive Leadership Counsel; Debra Kelly-Ennis, former president and CEO of Diageo Canada; and Micky Arison, chief executive of Carnival. Arison is the son of Ted Arison co-founder of the Carnival Corporation, and is the owner of the NBA's Miami Heat. ·

[MuffyBee]

http://www.gazzettadelsud.it/news/english/29523/Raising-of-Concordia-shipwreck-postponed.html
Region says salvage operation must be 'followed closely'
January 8, 2013

Florence, January 8 - Italian authorities on Friday said the wreckage of the Costa Concordia cruise liner that ran aground off the Tuscan island of Giglio last January would be raised later than originally planned. "The aim is to refloat the ship by the end of September 2013, with a delay of a few months, but still compatible with the approved timetable," said Tuscan Governor Enrico Rossi. The governor also expressed concern about the fate of works to remove the shipwrecked vessel once the legal oversight provided by Prefect Franco Gabrielli comes to an end on January 31.
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Meanwhile the authorities on Giglio are preparing to mark the first anniversary of the cruise ship disaster that killed 32 people on January 13, 2012, as legal proceedings against Francesco Schettino, the captain at the helm of the ship, continue.
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A wrongful dismissal hearing continues on Wednesday, as Schettino's lawyer argues the dismissal process used by the company was not legitimate.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/10/captain-costa-concordia-canoe
Captain steered Costa Concordia 'like a canoe', says prosecutor
Francesco Verusio tells newspaper it was obvious Francesco Schettino was the person responsible for cruise ship disaster
January 10, 2013

The captain of the Costa Concordia, the luxury cruise liner that hit rocks and capsized off the coast of Tuscany last January, was sailing the ship "as if it were a canoe", an Italian prosecutor has said.

As survivors of the disaster prepared to join relatives of the 32 victims to mark its one year anniversary on Sunday, Francesco Verusio, the magistrate who led the investigation into the causes of the crash, renewed his criticisms of the captain, Francesco Schettino.

"His role emerged straight away. It was obvious that he was the person responsible: we could have tried him there and then. It was apparent immediately that he had been on the bridge: he was steering the Concordia, a ship of more than 300 metres and with more than 4,000 people on board, as if it were a canoe," Verusio told the Corriere della Sera.

This week Schettino, who is likely to be indicted on criminal charges in coming weeks, claimed he had been "depicted as worse than [Osama] bin Laden". He admits having made mistakes but says he should not be held solely accountable. Seven other crew members and executives could also face charges.
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[MuffyBee]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/01/10/costa-concordia/1823793/
One year later, Costa Concordia still half-submerged
January 10, 2013

A year after the ship ran aground -- leaving 30 dead -- questions remain about its captain, the risk to marine life and when the Costa Concordia will be removed.

ROME – The Costa Concordia cruise liner lies on its side off a small island near the coast of Tuscany one year after it ran aground.

The captain accused of abandoning the ship for land as hundreds of his passengers struggled to make it to lifeboats has yet to be tried. Toxic substances in the ship's hold have yet to be drained.

"Everyone here will be thankful when the ship is finally moved and our lives can go back to normal," said Sergio Ortelli, mayor of Isola del Giglio.

People will gather on the island of Giglio on Sunday to mark the one-year anniversary of the disaster that left 30 people dead. Ship sirens will go off at 9:42 p.m., the moment the liner collided with a reef and listed to one side.

There are plans to use the massive 80-ton boulder that tore a hole in the side of the ship to be moved to the island as part of a memorial to the incident.

The ship's 4,252 passengers and crew were enjoying the evening and passing close to the picturesque island of Giglio when Le Scole reef tore open a huge gash in the hull of the Costa Concordia.

An investigation showed that Capt. Francesco Schettino deviated from the programmed route and piloted the boat too close to shore. His reasons for the deviation are not clear.

Schettino appeared in headlines worldwide when he left the ship and headed on a lifeboat to land while hundreds of passengers were still aboard and rescue operations were underway.
More...

[MuffyBee]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57563459/costa-concordia-1-year-later-survivors-attempt-to-move-on/
Costa Concordia 1 year later: Survivors attempt to move on
January 11, 2013

Video at Link

[MuffyBee]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/costa-concordia-salvage-operation-slated-to-be-the-largest-in-history/article7270508/
Costa Concordia salvage operation slated to be the largest in history
January 11, 2013


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The cruise ship went aground just off the island of Giglio, about 16 kilometres beyond Italy’s Tuscan coast, on the evening of Jan. 13, 2012. Thirty passengers were confirmed dead. Another two are still officially listed as missing, their remains presumably within the shipwreck, making the Costa Concordia a tomb as well as the biggest and riskiest salvage operation in nautical history.

This weekend, the first anniversary of the disaster, there will be church masses, concerts and ceremonies in honour of the victims. On Sunday, at 9:45 p.m. – the moment of impact, when a rock ripped a 50-metre gash into the port side of the hull – 32 lanterns will be lit.

But the anniversary is not just all about remembering the dead and raging against the apparently incompetent captain, Francesco Schettino, who is under investigation for manslaughter in connection with the grave navigational error. The world’s press and Giglio residents will also get an update from the salvage team about the risks of the $400-million (U.S.) salvage operation.

If it fails, Giglio, and the near-pristine waters around it, would face an environmental disaster.
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Nick Sloane, the salvage master from Florida’s Titan Salvage, who was brought in from South Africa to oversee the ship’s refloating, admits he’s a bit nervous about the effort, in spite of the computer models that conclude it can work. He is especially worried about a freak storm. “The biggest threat is winter weather,” he said in an interview this week. ”Anything could happen if a 50-year storm hits.”

And the odds of success? “I would say there’s a 70-per-cent chance,” he said, noting that once the rotation of the ship starts, it cannot be stopped. In other words, every person on Giglio will go into collective nervous spasm on salvage day.

Comments

[MuffyBee]

http://www.sfgate.com/world/article/A-slap-to-Costa-Concordia-survivors-4188097.php
A slap to Costa Concordia survivors
January 11, 2013

Rome --

One can't stand being in a mall: It feels too much like the ship, with no visible exits. Another dreams she's walking on a tilt - a memory of having crawled up walls as the cruise liner rolled onto its side. A 4-year-old boy talks obsessively about the meal he had to leave behind when plates started to fly across the dining room.

As if the nightmares, flashbacks and anxiety weren't enough, passengers who survived the terrifying capsizing of the Costa Concordia off Tuscany have come in for a rude shock as they mark the first anniversary of the disaster on Sunday: They've been told they aren't welcome at the weekend's commemorations.

Ship owner Costa Crociere SpA, the Italian unit of Miami-based Carnival Corp., sent several passengers a letter telling them they shouldn't bother coming to the official anniversary ceremonies on the island of Giglio where the hulking ship still rests. Costa says the day is focused on the families of the 32 people who died Jan. 13, 2012, not the 4,200 passengers and crew who survived.

While some survivors said they understood that the families who lost loved ones deserved particular attention, many of those who are still struggling to get through each day said the letter added insult to their injuries - both physical and psychological. Some speculated that the letter was more about keeping disgruntled passengers, many of whom have taken legal action against Costa, away from the TV cameras that have flooded the island for the anniversary.

Costa attorney Marco De Luca said it only made sense to limit the numbers on the island, which opened its doors to the 4,200 shipwreck victims who came ashore that frigid night. "The presence of thousands and thousands of people would create logistical problems - good sense would say you take note of that," he said.
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[MuffyBee]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21005011
Survivors mark a year since the Costa Concordia disaster
January 13, 2013

Survivors of the Costa Concordia disaster and relatives of the 32 people killed have been marking a year since the luxury cruise liner hit rocks and capsized off the Italian island of Giglio.

They watched as a memorial plaque, on part of the rock removed from the hull, was lowered back into the sea. A minute's silence was held.
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Video at Link

[MuffyBee]

http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2013/01/14/raw-video-lanterns-lit-for-victims-of-costa-concordia/1832295/
Raw Video: Lanterns lit for victims of Costa Concordia
January 13, 2013

[MuffyBee]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2262136/Costa-Concordia-survivors-defy-request-stay-away-ceremony-marking-anniversary-cruise-ship-disaster.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
Costa Concordia survivors defy request to stay away from ceremony marking anniversary of cruise ship disaster
Survivors commemorate one-year mark of disaster which claimed 32 lives
Memorial mass, unveiling of plaque and minute of silence on Giglio
Cruise line sent letter to all surviving passengers asking them not to go
January 14, 2013

Survivors of the Costa Concordia disaster returned to the scene of the shipwreck to mark the one-year anniversary, defying a request from the cruise company that they stay away.

In the days before the Sunday ceremony, owners Costa Crociere sent a letter to all passengers who survived the capsizing, and asked them not to travel to the Italian island of Giglio for ‘logistical reasons’.

Undeterred, some of the 3,200 surviving passengers, and relatives of the 32 who lost their lives, were taken by boat close to the wreck.
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Photos at Link

[MuffyBee]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2263397/Francesco-Schettino-Costa-Concordia-captain-says-understands-people-hate-him.html
'I regret nothing:' Costa Concordia captain says he understands why people 'hate' him but other officers should share the blame
Cruise liner slammed into rocks off the Italian island of Giglio last year
Aftermath of the shipwreck left 32 people dead
Captain Francesco Schettino took it off its pre-programmed course and brought it closer to land as a favour to friends from the island
January 16, 2013

[MuffyBee]

This is the only source I've found so far that mentions the two remaining victims may have been found.  I'm not really certain this should be considered a fact yet.  Within the article the companies refloating and removing the ship deny the victims bodies have been found. (See my bolded)  I suppose we'll need to wait and see.  


http://news.discovery.com/human/two-missing-bodies-likely-found-on-costa-concordia-130115.htm
Costa Concordia Yields Two More Bodies
BY ROSSELLA LORENZI
January 15, 2013

The bodies of the two last missing victims of the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster may have been found, according to reports in the Italian media.

The news comes exactly one year after the huge liner — more than twice as big as the Titanic — ran aground off the Tuscan coast of Giglio, Italy.
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 The ship tumbled onto its side with more than 4,200 people aboard and 32 lives were lost.

Among them, Sicilian passenger Maria Grazia Trecarichi and Indian crew member Russel Rebello are still unaccounted for and presumed dead.

“Not being able to give back these bodies to their families is now the biggest tragedy,” Franco Gabrielli, the head of Italy’s civil protection agency, said at a poignant day-long commemoration at Giglio on Sunday.

But according to reports in the Italian media, the bodies were known to be located in the most unreachable area of the wreck near the stern.

“I was told four months ago that my brother’s body had been found, but recovery is impossible until the rotating of the ship,” Kevin Rebello, Russel’s brother, told the daily Il Tirreno.

Engineer and fire brigade chief Ennio Aquilino confirmed that the two victims are most likely trapped near the stern, where the ship collapsed.

“That’s our guess. We won’t be able to reach the bodies until we move the ship,” he told the daily La Nazione.

But the companies undertaking the refloating and removal of the Concordia — American Titan Salvage and Italian firm Micoperi — denied that the missing bodies had been located in the wreck.
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[MuffyBee]

http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/10172302.Falmouth_firm_to_help_recover_striken_Costa_Concordia/
Falmouth firm to help recover stricken Costa Concordia
January 18, 2013

Falmouth-based marine drilling company Fugro Seacore has been awarded a large contract by Titan-Micoperi to contribute to the recovery of the Costa Concordia, the stricken Italian cruise liner that sank just off the Italian coast in January 2012.

Titan-Micoperi is a consortium of the world renowned American salvage experts Titan Salvage and major offshore Italian contractor Micoperi. Raising the liner, which is twice as heavy as the Titanic, from two giant rock outcrops in the sea has been described as one of the toughest marine recovery operations in modern history.

Fugro Seacore will drill the offshore foundations for six platforms, the three largest platforms equaling the size of a rugby pitch. The Costa Concordia will be rolled upright (par-buckled) on to the platforms, before it will be re-floated and taken away from the protected Tuscan marine environment in which it lies.

A highly experienced team of 12 local Fugro Seacore professional staff from Falmouth, Helston and Penzance has been working on a shift basis, 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, and living on board a Micoperi Construction Vessel (M-30), moored next to the ocean liner, to ensure the project is completed to specification and safely.
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[MuffyBee]

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/342006
Costa Concordia hero gets Bulgaria's '2012 Man of the Year' award
January 24, 2013

The Bulgarian technician credited with saving hundreds of lives on the Costa Concordia has been named his country's 'Man of the Year'. The award was handed out Monday at the Inter Expo Center in Sofia and Petar Petrov's wife and son accepted it for him.
Petrov, working on another Costa Cruises liner, the Costa Voyager, and unable to attend the ceremony, operated lifeboats on Jan. 13, 2012 when the Costa Concordia went too close to the Italian island of Giglio in the Tuscan Bay and hit a reef. The ship listed over and partially sank. When the tragedy occurred, Petrov went to work and began ferrying people in a lifeboat to the safety of the shore 300 metres away.
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Petrov is credited with commanding six trips to the shore in the lifeboat that held 150; he kept going back for more until the Coast Guard took over and ordered him to evacuate. He was one of the final three crew members to leave the ship.
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[MuffyBee]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9824982/Costa-Concordia-owners-accused-of-playing-down-extent-of-catastrophe.html
Costa Concordia owners accused of playing down extent of catastrophe
Italian prosecutors broadened the inquiry into the Costa Concordia disaster on Thursday, announcing that they will investigate alleged failings by the cruise ship's owners.
January 24, 2013

[MuffyBee]

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/dancer-who-survived-costa-concordia-disaster-reveals-desperate-bid-to-survive--one-year-on-from-tragedy-8464413.html
Dancer who survived Costa Concordia disaster reveals desperate bid to survive - one year on from tragedy
- Rose Metcalf was drinking coffee when disaster struck
- She rushed to change out of silk dress and into practical clothes
- One friend of hers left paralysed fleeing gushing water on board
- She reveals people used coffins to float away from listing ship
January 24, 2013

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“People went to the mortuary and were chucking coffins out, and using them to float because the lifejackets were locked in trunks,” Ms Metcalf added. “There were lots of explosion sounds inside the ship and gas bubbling in the water that filled the cabins.”
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[MuffyBee]

http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-oneyearlater-20130127,1,7648131.story
Questions linger one year after the Costa Concordia disaster
While some survivors of the Costa Concordia capsizing say they're still haunted by the lack of direction, cruise officials point to new safety policies put into place.
January 24, 2013

(2 pgs)

[MuffyBee]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-25/carnival-s-costa-crociere-under-probe-in-concordia-wreck-case.html
Carnival’s Costa Crociere Under Probe in Concordia Wreck Case
January 25, 2013

Carnival Corp. (CCL)’s Costal Crociere unit is under probe for “possible violations” of the Italian administrative responsibility law in the Costa Concordia shipwreck probe, the company said in a statement.
Costa is “confident it will be able to demonstrate its full compliance with the law and states its full trust” in magistrates, it said yesterday.
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Prosecutors in Grosseto, Italy on Feb. 22 widened their probe to include seven employees of Costa Crociere, which has said it’s “absolutely certain” its staff acted correctly.
Italian consumer group Codacons said on its website that Costa Crociere risks a “super-fine” over the incident.
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Link to Codacons website:
http://www.codacons.it/  (you'll need to translate unless you can read Italian  )