Costa Concordia

Concept and construction

Costa Concordia was ordered in 2004 by Carnival Corporation from Fincantieri and built in the Sestri Ponente yard in Genoa, as yard number 6122. the champagne bottle, released by model Eva Herzigová, failed to break when swung against the hull the first time. This type of occurrence is considered a bad omen among seafarers, and this incident has been partially blamed for the ship's 2008 accident and 2012 sinking.

The ship was delivered to Costa on 30 June 2006. It cost €450 million (£372 million, ) to build. The name Concordia was intended to express the wish for "continuing harmony, unity, and peace between European nations".{{cite news |access-date=15 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118124822/http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20050919/local/malta-on-new-liners-itinerary.77802 |archive-date=18 January 2012 |url-status=dead

Description

Costa Concordia was 290.20 m long, had a beam of 35.50 m and drew 8.20 m of water. She had a diesel-electric power plant consisting of six 12-cylinder Wärtsilä 12V46C four-stroke medium-speed diesel generating sets with a combined output of 102780 hp.{{Citation Ship data from: Clarkson Research Services Limited | access-date = 28 January 2012 | archive-date = 15 March 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160315122745/http://www.tradewindsnews.com/vessel?id=82C54167A64F8DE7 | url-status = live | access-date = 14 January 2012 | archive-date = 2 August 2012 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120802231632/http://www.faktaomfartyg.nu/costa_concordia_2006.htm | url-status = live

Layout

Costa Concordia had 13 public decks, each named after a European country. Deck 1 was the lowest:{{cite web |access-date=30 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030040433/http://www.atc.fi/old/decks/Costa_Concordia_deck_plans.pdf |archive-date=30 October 2012

• Deck 1 Olanda (Holland)
• Deck 2 Svezia (Sweden)
• Deck 3 Belgio (Belgium)
• Deck 4 Grecia (Greece)
• Deck 5 Italia (Italy)
• Deck 6 Gran Bretagna (Great Britain)
• Deck 7 Irlanda (Ireland)
• Deck 8 Portogallo (Portugal)
• Deck 9 Francia (France)
• Deck 10 Germania (Germany)
• Deck 11 Spagna (Spain)
• Deck 12 Austria (Austria)
• Deck 14 Polonia (Poland)

Amenities

Costa Concordia was outfitted with approximately 1,500 cabins; 505 with private balconies, and 55 with direct access to the Samsara Spa, which were considered Spa staterooms; 58 suites had private balconies and 12 had direct access to the spa. Costa Concordia had one of the world's largest exercise facility areas at sea, the Samsara Spa, a two-level, 6000 m2 fitness center, with gym, a thalassotherapy pool, sauna, Turkish bath and a solarium. The ship had four swimming pools, two with retractable roofs, five Jacuzzis, five spas, and a poolside movie theatre on the main pool deck. There were also five on-board restaurants, with Club Concordia and Samsara taking reservations-only dining. There were thirteen bars, including a cigar and cognac bar and a coffee and chocolate bar. Entertainment options included a three-level theatre, casino, a futuristic disco, a children's area equipped with video games and a basketball court. She also had onboard a Grand Prix motor racing simulator and an internet café.{{cite news |access-date=30 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120418212843/http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/three_coast_several_missing_after_Ztwzh4pOyI28VzooFByOnM/2 |archive-date=18 April 2012

Accidents and incidents

2008 bow damage

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.{{cite news | access-date = 12 January 2012 | archive-date = 13 June 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180613041013/https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20081123/local/cruise-liner-damaged-after-leaving-malta.234247 | url-status = live | access-date = 21 January 2012 | archive-date = 20 January 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120120175414/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16660403 | url-status = live Initial repairs were completed by the December following the incident, but dents were still visible. The area was later fully repaired in 2011 during the ship's refurbishment.

2012 grounding and partial sinking

Main article: Costa Concordia disaster

On 13 January 2012, under the command of Captain Francesco Schettino, Costa Concordia departed Civitavecchia, the port that serves Rome, Italy, for a seven-night cruise. At 21:45 local time (UTC+1), in calm seas and overcast weather, she collided with a rock off Isola del Giglio, on the western coast of Italy approximately 54 nmi northwest of Rome. A 53 m long gash was made in the port-side hull, along three compartments of the engine room (deck 0). This resulted in loss of propulsion and loss of electrical systems, which crippled the ship. Taking on water, the vessel listed to the starboard (right) side. Twenty-four minutes later, strong winds pushed the vessel back to Giglio Island, where she grounded 500 m north of the village of Giglio Porto, resting on her starboard side in shallow waters, with most of her starboard side underwater.{{cite news | access-date = 14 January 2012 | archive-date = 14 January 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120114181226/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16561382 | url-status = live

Almost half of the ship remained above water, but it was in danger of sinking completely into a trough 70 m deep.{{cite magazine |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120722185616/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-19/concordia-at-high-risk-of-sinking-italian-minister-says.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 July 2012 |access-date=31 December 2012 | access-date = 24 January 2012 | archive-date = 23 April 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190423142953/http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=200767&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1648204 | url-status = live |access-date=24 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120116220935/http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/homepage_showcase/coast-guard-cruise-ship-runs-aground-off-italy-3-bodies-found-helicopters-rescue-others |archive-date=16 January 2012

Schettino was found guilty of manslaughter, causing a maritime accident, and abandoning his ship. He was sentenced to sixteen years in prison in 2015.

Salvage

Main article: Costa Concordia disaster#Salvage

An initial assessment by salvage expert company Smit International estimated that the removal of Costa Concordia and her 2,380 tonnes of fuel{{cite web | access-date = 23 January 2012 | access-date = 30 January 2012 | archive-date = 30 January 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120130013525/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16782481 | url-status = live

During the fuel removal operation, Smit reported that the ship had shifted 24 in in the three weeks since her grounding, but that there was no immediate prospect of her breaking up or sinking deeper. Removal of the fuel from the various fuel tanks distributed throughout the ship was completed in March 2012, later than Smit's initial estimates. This cleared the way to arrange for the ultimate salvaging and scrapping of the ship.

On 17 September 2013, Costa Concordia was brought to a vertical position through a parbuckling procedure. The cost for salvaging the ship increased to $799 million. In addition, the ship had suffered severe hull deformations in two places. Titan Salvage, the company directing the salvage operations, estimated that the next phase of the salvage operation would be completed by early-to-mid-2014. After this "floating" operation, the ship would be towed to a salvage yard on the Italian mainland for scrapping or "breaking".

On 14 July 2014, work commenced to refloat Costa Concordia in preparation for towing. At this point, the costs had risen to €1 billion. Including tow cost, €100 million for the ship to be broken up for scrap and the cost of repairing damage to Giglio island, the estimated final cost was expected to be €1.5 billion ($2 billion). On 23 July, having been refloated, the ship commenced its final journey under tow at a speed of 2 kn, with a 14-ship escort, to be scrapped in Genoa. It arrived at port on 27 July, after a four-day journey. It was moored to a seawall at the port, awaiting dismantling processes.

On 11 May 2015, following initial dismantling, but still kept afloat by the salvage sponsons, the hull was towed 10 mi to the Superbacino dock in Genoa for removal of the upper decks. The last of the sponsons were removed in August 2016 and the hull was taken in to a drydock on 1 September for final dismantling. Scrapping of the ship was completed on 7 July 2017.

Aftermath

On 11 April 2012, a documentary broadcast in the United Kingdom, titled Terror at Sea: The Sinking of the Costa Concordia, and another first broadcast on Channel 4, titled The Sinking of the Concordia: Caught on Camera, featured footage recorded by the passengers and crew.

On 14 July 2012, a documentary titled Cruise Ship Disaster: Inside the Concordia, was first broadcast on the Discovery Channel, CNN Presents: Cruise to Disaster, first broadcast by CNN and another, titled Inside Costa Concordia: Voices of Disaster, was first broadcast by the National Geographic Channel. The season 39 Nova episode "Why Ships Sink" discusses the sinking of Costa Concordia. A later Nova season 42 episode "Sunken Ship Rescue" featured the salvage effort and race to refloat and remove the badly damaged Costa Concordia from the accident scene before the ship could break apart, risking an environmental catastrophe.

On 15 February 2013, ABC's 20/20 aired a special on the sinking and interviews with the survivors following the engine fire on .

On 1 September 2025, NBC's Survival Mode aired a special on the sinking of the Costa Concordia. The episode featured interviews and footage recorded inside the vessel as it struck the sea floor and began taking on water. The special included a detailed reconstruction of events and firsthand accounts from survivors and rescue personnel.

References

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