FLORENCE, ITALY – Prosecutors on Monday January 26, 2015, requested that a Grosseto court sentence former captain Francesco Schettino to 26 years in prison for the January 2012 Costa Concordia shipwreck off the Tuscan island of Giglio in which 32 people died.
In closing arguments before the request prosecutor Stefano Pizza described Schettino as negligent. Schettino abandoned the sinking ship before all passengers had left the vessel, a crime in both nautical tradition and law, Pizza said. “The captain’s duty to abandon ship last isn’t just an obligation dictated by ancient maritime tradition, but is also a legal obligation designed to minimize injuries,” Pizza said.
On 17 September 2013 Costa Concordia was brought to a vertical position through a parbuckling procedure. 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 summer, 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 euros. 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. On 23 July, having been refloated, the ship commenced its final journey under tow and a 14 ship escort at a speed of 2 knots to be scrapped in Genoa. It arrived at port on 27 July, after a 4 day journey. It remains moored at the port, awaiting dismantling processes.
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