The most famous maritime disasters in the world. The wreck of the cruise ship Costa Concordia (20 photos)

The buildings 29.09.2019

The buildings

"Mikhail Lermontov"

On February 16, 1986, the ship "Mikhail Lermontov" sank: a Soviet cruise ship sank off the coast of New Zealand. People on board - 408 passengers, a significant part of them retirement age, 330 crew members and a New Zealand pilot - were rescued by the Tarihiko tanker and the Arahura ferry that approached the place of the wreck. One person died in the crash: Pavel Zaglyadimov, an engineer of refrigeration units, who worked in a compartment that was flooded immediately after the collision. We decided to recall seven shipwrecked cruise ships.

"MIKHAIL LERMONTOV"

The ship "Mikhail Lermontov" was built at the shipyard of the German port of Wismar in 1972 and was put into operation in 1973. Its purpose was to serve regular cruise lines. In the same year, on May 28, the ship "Mikhail Lermontov" set off on its first voyage along the Bremerhaven-London-Havre-New York route, becoming the first Soviet passenger ship to visit a foreign American port in the last 25 years.

On five passenger decks, connected by gangways and elevators, there were 239 cabins, which could accommodate 550 passengers with all amenities. The crew consisted of 350 people and was located on the lower decks. At the service of passengers there was a music salon with a stage, a restaurant, five bars, a beauty salon, a hairdresser, a casino, a library, winter Garden, shops, tennis courts.

On its last voyage from the port of Leningrad, the liner departed on Friday, November 22, 1985. Having reached New Zealand Wellington, after a short stay, on February 16, 1986, in Shakespeare Bay off the coast of New Zealand, at 17 hours 38 minutes local time, at a speed of about 15 knots, the ship twice hit the bottom of a rocky shoal in the area of Cape Jackson and received a large hole in port side below the waterline. A distress signal was sent and received by Wellington radio. The Arahura ferry, heading from Picton through the Cook Strait, and the Tarihiko tanker, which took on board 356 passengers and crew members, headed for the liner in distress. In addition to the tanker and the ferry, small fishing vessels took part in rescuing passengers and crew and rushing to help.

After the death of the ship, there were many different rumors about the hidden causes of the disaster. Officially, the senior assistant to the captain, Sergei Stepanishchev, was recognized as the culprit of the disaster, as the senior officer who was on the bridge at the time of the collision. In doing so, the court considered misconduct New Zealand citizen pilot Donald Jemison, who indicated the wrong course. Attempts to raise the liner sunken at a depth were not made. There is an opinion that the Soviet liner interfered with Western competitors: the USSR Ministry of the Passenger Fleet sold tickets at reduced prices by reducing costs. Our sea vessels used Soviet fuel, which was much cheaper than Western. In England, tickets for a Soviet liner were sold at a price of $70 per day. A ten-day boat tour cost $700.

The remains of the ship are still at a depth of 25-30 meters and are a popular diving site.

"ADMIRAL NAKHIMOV"

The Soviet passenger ship was wrecked on August 31, 1986, 15 km from Novorossiysk, 4 km from the coast. Until that day, "Admiral Nakhimov" had been making cruise voyages along the Crimean-Caucasian line for 29 years.

The ship was built in 1925 in Germany and bore the name "Berlin". Until 1939, "Berlin" made regular flights across the Atlantic, between the ports of Bremerhaven and New York. During the Second World War, the ship sank, but was raised, repaired and sold to the USSR in 1957. Over time, "Admiral Nakhimov" gained popularity in the country. The newlyweds have a fashion to make honeymoon trips on the Admiral Nakhimov. Vouchers for this ship were sold out six months before the start of the cruise.

On the day of the tragedy, along with the crew, there were 1,243 people on the ship, including the head of the KGB department for the Odessa region, Major General A. Krikunov, and his family, who arrived at the departure of the ship from Novorossiysk. At 22:00, having taken passengers on board, the ship went to sea, moving towards Sochi. At this time, the Pyotr Vasev, a cargo ship-dry cargo ship, of a larger displacement, entered the Tsemess Bay, following a course of 36 degrees at a speed of 11.5 knots. The ships approached on intersecting courses. The total speed of their movement was over 23 knots, or 43 kilometers per hour. The dispatchers suggested that Viktor Tkachenko, the captain of the cargo ship Pyotr Vasev, let the passenger liner Admiral Nakhimov pass, to which he agreed. After that, both ships negotiated among themselves, specifying the details of the maneuver. However, at 23.12, Pyotr Vasev crashed with its bow at a right angle into the starboard side of the steamer, cutting a hole in it 8 by 10 meters. The liner went to the bottom in just 8 minutes. From the sinking ship, the sailors managed to throw off most of the inflatable life rafts, which became the only means of salvation for drowning people. At the crash site, about 1000 people were floundering on the surface of the water at the same time, many objects and debris floated. The wind and current began to carry the injured people directly to the dry cargo ship, and after a while several dozen people floated on both sides.

The captain of the port of Novorossiysk was immediately informed about the collision of the ships, who sent port fleet tugs, offshore and small passenger boats to the crash site. In total, according to the official version, 423 passengers and crew members died as a result of the disaster. However, not all the dead were found and raised to the surface. 64 people remained forever under water.

ANDREA DORIA

The Italian transatlantic liner, first launched on June 16, 1951 and distinguished by its special safety, sank on July 26, 1956 11 hours after colliding with the Stockholm liner off the coast of New York. Andrea Doria was not just a liner. He personified the revival of the Italian merchant marine after the Second World War. With a gross tonnage of 29,100 gross tonnage and a length of 212 meters and a beam of 27.5 meters, the vessel was one of the largest and fastest ships in the world. The premises of the liner were decorated with works of art. Each classroom has a cinema hall and a swimming pool with a recreation area.

July 25, 1956 "Andrea Doria" with 1134 passengers and 500 crew members on board, moving in the fog at a speed of 21.8 knots, was approaching the lighthouse on Nantucket Island. Almost the entire route was completed. The speed was higher than the maximum allowed in such weather conditions. At the same time, the 12,000-ton Swedish liner Stockholm was about to sail from New York. He was to pass within one mile of the lightship Nantucket, and then change course north to the coast of Scandinavia. However, in thick fog, a collision could not be avoided. On the bridges of both ships, they saw each other's lights almost simultaneously: "Stockholm" broke through 7 decks, and from the impact of "Andrea Doria" heeled heavily to the left, turned sharply, exposing the propellers, and continuing to go at full speed, dragged the Swedish ship behind him.

According to an emergency order, each of the 1250 passengers and 575 crew members were to board the lifeboats, only 8 people and the captain were to remain on the liner to control eight winches that lowered all sixteen boats. The accident occurred on a busy section of the route, so help arrived quickly. When the roll of the Andrea Doria increased by 8 degrees, boats from the Stockholm, Ile de France, the Private William Thomas military transport, the Cape Ann fruit carrier and other responding ships approached the ship. The rescue of the passengers of the Andrea Doria was the most successful rescue operation in the history of shipwrecks: it was possible to save all the passengers of the liner.

The Italian liner is still lying in a 72-meter depth, 40 miles from the US island of Nantucket. In addition to art objects, there were safes with passengers' money and jewelry on the ship. However, all attempts to raise the ship were unsuccessful. Over the past ten years, more than 15 divers have died here.

"COSTA CONCORDIA"

The Concordia liner in 2006 was in 10th place in the TOP 10 largest cruise ships in the world. Its length was 290 meters, which is comparable to three football fields. The ship was wrecked on January 13, 2012 near the Italian island of Giglio off the coast of the Tuscany region, deviating from the course and approaching the shore. At full speed, the liner pierced the bottom of the coastal rocks and heeled about 20 degrees. As a result of the impact, a long hole of 50 meters was formed on the hull. Almost instantly, the engine room was flooded and control over the engines and electronic systems was lost.

The last cruise included calls to the ports of several Italian cities, as well as to Barcelona and Marseille. On board the ship were 3216 passengers from 62 countries and 1023 crew members. During the crash of the liner, 32 people died, more than 4 thousand people were evacuated. The captain of the Concordia, Francesco Schettino, was arrested. According to the prosecution, he brought the cruise ship too close to the coast. If found guilty, the captain faces up to 20 years in prison. Francesco Schettino himself denies the accusations against him, arguing that the rock that the liner ran into was not on the sea charts.

613 days after the disaster, work began on lifting the vessel. The rescue operation was the largest and most expensive in history: it cost $ 800 million, and it took many months to prepare. On September 17, 2013, the ship was brought to a vertical position using rollers and 36 steel cables and a special platform built at a depth of 30 m.

Sea Diamond

The cruise ship Sea Diamond was shipwrecked on April 5, 2007 off the Greek island of Santorini. The ship was owned by Louis Hellenic Cruise Lines. Sea Diamond came across and settled on a reef of volcanic origin. The vessel, commissioned in 1986, was 142.9 meters long and 24.7 meters wide. Sea Diamond had a capacity of 1.5 thousand people, but at that time there were about 1.1 thousand people on board . All of them were evacuated with the exception of two people: the French, a daughter and a father, who are considered missing. On April 6, 2007, the ship sank at a depth of 200 m.

The Titanic The Britannic was the twin of the Titanic. It was the third and last Olympic-class ship ordered by White Star Line. The liners were supposed to be named after ancient Greek characters: Olympians, titans and giants. But, according to legend, the titans and giants died in the battle with the Olympians, and calling the new ship "Gigantic" would be as impudent as in the case of the "Titanic". Therefore, the ship was named the Britannic. Due to the Titanic disaster, changes were made to the design.

During the First World War, the Britannic was used as a hospital ship. On November 21, 1916, the liner was blown up by mines laid by the German submarine U73 under the command of Gustav Ziss in the Kea channel - between the island of Kea and mainland Greece. An evacuation was carried out. After some time, the ship capsized to starboard and sank 55 minutes after the explosion.

In addition to the crew, there were 3.3 thousand wounded on board. The crash killed 30 people. Most of them died in two lifeboats, which were pulled in by the still-rotating propeller.

On the night of Friday the 13th, the luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia, carrying more than 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members, hit a reef, lists and partially sank off the coast of the island of Giglio, Italy. Six people have already been confirmed dead, including two French passengers and one crew member from Peru. They all drowned in the waters mediterranean sea after the crash. 14 people are still missing, and rescuers continue to search for survivors. The accident occurred just a few hours after sailing, and the passengers had not yet had time to conduct a safety briefing, so chaos reigned on the ship during the evacuation. Captain Francesco Schettino was arrested. Among other charges, he is also accused of being one of the first to leave the ship. Collected in this issue are photographs of the sunken Costa Concordia and attempts to find the 14 passengers.

(Total 22 photos)

1. "Costa Concordia" after the crash off the coast of the island of Giglio. 6 passengers drowned, 14 still missing after an Italian liner with 4,200 people on board ran aground. The Costa Concordia set out for a cruise in the Mediterranean but hit a reef on Friday 13th January. (Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images)

2. Passengers with life jackets aboard the Costa Concordia are waiting for the start of the operation. (AP Photo/Courtesy from tourist aboard the ship)

3. The cruise liner "Costa Concordia" tilted, running aground off the coast of the island of Giglio. (AP Photo/Giglionews.it, Giorgio Fanciulli)

4. The Costa Concordia passenger arrived with others at the port of Santo Stefano after the ship wrecked. One of the passengers jumped into icy waters when the panic started. The ship sailed the Mediterranean to Savona with scheduled stops at Civitavecchia, Palermo, Cagliari, Palma, Barcelona and Marseille. (Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images)

5. The family from the liner "Costa Concordia" arrived in the bay in Marseille. (AP Photo/Claude Paris)

6. "Costa Concordia" off the west coast of the island of Giglio in Italy. (Reuters/Italian Guardia di Finanza)

7. "Costa Concordia" lies on its side after the crash. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

8. Holes in the ship's hull. (Reuters/Stringer)

9. Firefighters inspect huge boulders sticking out of the hull cruise ship"Costa Concordia" the day after the crash. (AP Photo/Andrea Sinibaldi, Lapresse)

10. "Costa Concordia" in the environment small craft. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

11. "Costa Concordia" at night in the bay of the Tuscan island of Giglio. (Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images)

12. Rescue ship illuminates the sunken liner. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

13. Italian firefighters climb the "Costa Concordia". (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

14. Firemen inspect the semi-submerged ship. (Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images)

15. Rescuers check the waters around with "Costa Concordia" after the crash of the ship. (Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images)

16. People look at a pile of sun loungers on the tilted deck of the Costa Concordia. (Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images)

17. Partially submerged cabins of the Costa Concordia. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

18. An Italian fire helicopter picks up passengers from the Costa Concordia. Firefighters worked all Sunday to rescue a crew member with a broken leg 36 hours after the tragedy. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

19. Divers inspect the semi-submerged Costa Concordia. (Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images)

20. Italian coast guard with a black box from the liner "Costa Concordia". (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

21. The captain of the cruise ship "Costa Concordia" Francesco Schettino (right) put in a police car in Grosseto, Italy. Schettino was arrested on charges of premeditated murder and being one of the first to leave the ship. (Reuters/Enzo Russo/ANSA)

22. "Costa Concordia" off the west coast of the island of Giglio, Italy. (Reuters/Stringer)

The cruise ship Costa Concordia sank Friday night off the west coast of Italy. Rescue work continued on January 15, 2012. Six people have already been confirmed dead, including two French passengers and one crew member from Peru. All of them drowned in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea after the crash. 14 people are still missing, and rescuers continue to search for survivors. The ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, appeared before the ship on charges of being one of the first to leave the ship, before the passengers were successfully evacuated.

Thousands of people were evacuated to the nearby island of Giglio. The mayor of the island called on the community to accept the shipwrecked people and said that "any house will open before them."

1. The captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, Francesco Schettino, right, was detained by Italian police on January 14, 2012 in Grosseto, Italy. Shettino was arrested on charges of mass death. He is also accused of causing the shipwreck by his actions. In addition, the captain of the cruise ship is accused of being the first to leave the ship, even before the evacuation of passengers was carried out.

2. Small boats and ships in the harbor of the island of Giglio on January 15, 2012. The shipwrecked cruise ship Costa Concordia is visible in the background. The capacity of the giant ship is more than 4,000 people. The ship was launched in 2006.

3. Rescuers in a helicopter carry out the evacuation of Marrico Gempetroni, head of the steward service, from the shipwrecked cruise ship Costa Concordia. Rescuers found him more than a day after the accident. The man's leg is broken.

4. Boats patrol near the overturned cruise ship Costa Concordia on January 15, 2012.

5. Passengers, citizens of South Korea, were evacuated from the board of the shipwrecked cruise ship "Costa Concordia" on January 15. The couple spent their honeymoon on the ship and found themselves locked on a wrecked ship.

6. Cruise liner "Costa Concordia", crashed off the west coast of Italy near the island of Giglio. at least five people died. The police continue to search for the victims. About 4,000 people were on board the ship that hit the reef.

7. Passengers of the wrecked cruise ship Costa Concordia arrive in Porto Santo Stefano on January 14.

8. Two men look at the wrecked cruise ship "Costa Concordia". The ship lists heavily, actually lying on its side, which only complicates the evacuation of passengers.

9. The Italian coast guard takes out a "black box" from the board of the wrecked cruise ship "Costa Concordia".

10. The wrecked cruise ship "Costa Concordia" off the west coast of Italy. Rescuers continue to search for survivors of the disaster.

11. Passengers who were evacuated from the wrecked cruise ship "Costa Concordia", receive first aid and come to life in Savona, Italy.

12. Cruise liner "Costa Concordia", half gone under water, near Porto Santo Stefano. The ship hit the reef. Rescuers warn that the ship could sink more than 70 meters into the water.

13. The holes that received the cruise ship "Costa Concordia", January 14, 2012. Rescuers continue to search for the missing.

14. Rescuers assist a woman, one of the passengers of the wrecked cruise ship "Costa Concordia", which arrived in Porto Santo Stefano on January 14, 2012. In carrying out rescue work Helicopters and boats took part, as well as vessels located near the crash site.

15. Coast Guard Service, January 14, 2012, next to wrecked cruise ship Costa Concordia.

16. A lifeboat from the Costa Concordia cruise ship enters the port of Giglio Island. she is being towed by a fishing boat. The cruise ship Costa Concordia ran aground on Friday night.

17. Passengers of the cruise ship "Costa Concordia", January 14, 2012, in a lifeboat. The cruise liner "Costa Concordia" was heading from the Italian port of Civittavecchia. He left the port a few hours before the disaster.

18. Evacuated passengers "Costa Concordia" in life jackets on the shore.

19. Rescuers transport an injured person from the wrecked cruise ship Costa Concordia to an ambulance on January 14, 2012, on Giglio Island, Italy.

20. The cruise ship "Costa Concordia" tends after it ran aground on January 13, 2012 off the coast of Italy.

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22. According to the ship's owner, the Italian travel company Costa Crociere, "about 3,200 passengers and about 1,000 crew members" were on board at the time of the accident.

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24. A hole about 70 meters long was found in the hull of a cruise ship. According to eyewitnesses, the ship stumbled upon a stone reef. Earlier it was reported that the Costa Concordia ran aground.

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31. Some of the tourists who vacationed on the Costa Concordia, including Russian and Ukrainian, were left not only without things, but also without passports, as they were handed over to the reception of the liner upon check-in.

The liner "Costa Concordia" ("Costa Concordia") holds a sad record: it is the largest passenger ship ever lost as a result of a shipwreck. We have already talked about the largest seven-masted schooner in history, Thomas Lawson () and about the mystical prediction of her fate.

The schooner sank on Friday the 13th, and one of the novels written by the millionaire Thomas Lawson, whose name she bore, was called Friday the Thirteenth. So, "Costa Concordia" also died on Friday and also on the 13th!

The cruise liner Costa Concordia was built at the Italian Fincantieri shipyard in Sestri Ponente (a suburb of Geno) in 2006 by order of Costa Crociere. At that time, it was the 10th largest passenger ship in the world rankings and the largest for Costa. "Costa Concordia" became the lead ship in a series of six units.

Costa Concordia had 13 decks; the maximum length of the vessel was 290.2 m, beam - 35.5 m, draft - 8.2 m, gross tonnage - 114,147 gross tonnage. Combined diesel-electric power plant included 6 diesel generators total power 102 780 hp and two electric motors with a capacity of 21 MW each. The maximum speed was 23 knots, the operational speed was 19.6 knots.

One and a half thousand comfortable cabins of different classes (from 16.7 to 44.8 sq.m) could accommodate 3,780 passengers. All cabins were equipped with TV, telephone, air conditioning, private bathroom and toilet. In addition, there were 14 elevators, 4 swimming pools, 5 restaurants, 13 bars, a theater, a two-level fitness center, a casino, a Formula 1 simulator. The ship's own crew consisted of 1100 people.

The Costa Concordia set off on its maiden voyage on July 14, 2006 and operated for several years on cruise lines in the Western Mediterranean. On the evening of January 13, 2012, the ship left the port of Civitavecchia and headed for Savona. It was a typical 7 Nights Winter Mediterranean cruise. At about 21:30 in the area of the island of Giglio, when most of passengers dined in a restaurant, the liner hits a stone reef with its left side and gets an underwater hole 53 m long (from the 52nd frame to the 125th). Five compartments, from the third to the eighth, quickly fill with water, the main engines stop. "Costa Concordia" manages to pass by inertia a little more than a kilometer and turns her nose to the harbor of Giglio. Then, under the influence of the wind, she drifts and at about 10 pm she runs aground in the immediate vicinity of the coast. The vessel, designed to maintain buoyancy only when two compartments are flooded, begins to sink with a roll to starboard.

The crash of the liner seemed inexplicable. General bewilderment can be understood: "Costa Concordia" walked past the island of Giglio once a week, that is, 52 times a year, and how did she manage to run into a stone reef? Why did the liner deviate from its course by 3-4 miles?

Subsequently, the captain of the cruise ship, Francesco Schettino, admitted that he decided to bring the ship closer to the island of Giglio and greet the former captain of the Costa Concordia, who lived there, his good friend. He had already done this several times on previous flights, but on that ill-fated Friday he hesitated with the turn, and the liner ripped the board against the stones. The court recognized this version as the most likely, although Schettino later changed his testimony. In particular, he claimed that he was forced to change course by the manager of the Carnival company, but this statement was not supported by the facts.

At the time of the disaster, there were 3,216 passengers from 62 countries and 1,023 crew members on board. Among the passengers were 108 Russians, 45 citizens of Ukraine, 7 citizens of Moldova, 3 of Kazakhstan and 3 of Belarus. In addition, three of our compatriots were members of the liner's crew.

The rescue operation was badly organized. Instead of immediately starting the evacuation of passengers, the captain of the liner was silent for 15 minutes, and then announced to the passengers that the ship had only minor problems with the generator. And only almost an hour after the accident, when the ship listed 30 degrees, an emergency alarm sounded. The landing of people in the boats was accompanied by panic and stampede. Only the proximity of the shore made it possible to avoid huge amount victims.

Captain Schettino, according to investigators, was one of the first to leave the ship without sending a distress signal. The Coast Guard found out about the crash of the liner belatedly and joined the evacuation of people only late at night. The active phase of the rescue operation continued until morning. Some passengers were transported ashore by helicopters.

Passengers who ended up on the island of Giglio were accommodated in a local church, school and other premises where there was at least a little free space. Local residents helped the victims of the crash as best they could, brought them food, blankets, warm clothes. Meanwhile, rescuers did not stop working, trying to find people inside the ship, including in the underwater part in the resulting air bags. Their efforts were not unsuccessful: on January 14-15, two newlyweds from South Korea and one Italian, a crew member of the liner, were found and rescued.

The victims of the disaster were 32 people. The search for bodies continued for a long time - the remains of the most recent missing were discovered only in November 2013. On February 1, 2014, another person was added to the mournful list - a diver died in an accident during work to raise the ship.

The Costa Concordia remained at the wreck for two years and became a tourist attraction. A stream of tourists rushed to the island of Giglio. In the nearby town of San Stefano, located on the mainland, tour operators did business selling tickets for excursions to the site of the tragedy. However, the inhabitants of the island were not pleased with the ship's hull, which became a grave. In addition, they feared that fuel and sewage would begin to flow out of the liner's tanks. Therefore, they threatened the Costa Crociere company with a lawsuit if the half-sunk ship was not removed in a timely manner.

On board the sunken liner were about six thousand works of art. The most valuable of them is a rare collection of Japanese engravings of the 18th-19th centuries, in particular, the work of Katsushika Hokusai. The Costa Concordia also had 19th-century Bohemian glass, antiques, jewelry from the ship's jewelry stores, valuables and money left by passengers in the cabins. Therefore, the forces of the Coast Guard and the Carabinieri guarded the ship from the encroachments of marauders. However, the Italian media reported back in March 2012 about the theft of a ship's bell.

Work on pumping 2300 tons of fuel, oil and sewage from tanks was completed on March 24, 2012. A month later, it was announced that the tender for the lifting and evacuation of the vessel was won by American company Titan Salvage. Initially, the operation was expected to take seven to ten months. In fact, it turned out much more, since it took a large amount preparatory work. An underwater platform was built under the bottom of the ship, and special counterweight pontoons were mounted on the port side, which, after filling with water, were supposed to put the liner on an even keel.

The 19-hour operation to straighten and lift the liner was carried out on September 16-17, 2013. The ship was set on an even keel with the help of 36 steel cables and counterweight pontoons. Then a platform with similar pontoons was brought to the starboard side. After draining all the pontoons, the skeleton of the Costa Concordia floated to the surface.

It is believed that the work performed has become the most expensive in the history of rescue operations. Their cost was about 250 million euros.

The Costa Concordia remained off the island of Giglio for another 10 months, and only at the end of July 2014 was it towed for disposal to the shipyard in Sestri Ponente, where the ship was built 8 years ago. It was assumed that the work on cutting the hull into metal would take 22 months and end in the spring of 2016.

The main and, in fact, the only culprit of the disaster, the court recognized the captain of the Costa Concordia, Francesco Schettino. He was accused of negligence, inadvertently killing 32 people, and leaving his ship before all passengers were evacuated. However, Schettino denied many of the charges brought against him, showing miracles of resourcefulness. In particular, he argued that it was not he who was to blame for the deaths, but the unsatisfactory security system of the liner. He tried to shift the blame for the collision with the reef to the Filipino helmsman, who, allegedly due to poor knowledge of the language, carried out the commands too slowly ... He explained his flight at the very beginning of the evacuation in court as follows: “I didn’t even have a life jacket, because I gave it to one of the passengers. I tried to get the vest out of the lifeboat where they usually lie. The ship suddenly lists somewhere at 60-70 degrees. I stumbled and got into one of lifeboats. That's why I was there."

Tests for alcohol and drugs gave a negative result, but Schettino, according to people who knew him, even when sober was distinguished by indiscipline and recklessness unusual for his age (51). One of his colleagues said: “He would even drive a bus like a Ferrari!”

On February 12, 2015, the Grosseto City Court found Schettino guilty and sentenced him to 16 years in prison.

The total damage from the death of the Costa Concordia for the ship-owning company amounted to approximately 1.5 billion euros. And this, of course, without taking into account reputational losses.

In the photographs below, you can compare the interiors of the liner - before the disaster and after a two-year stay under water:

Exactly 6 years ago, confirming the notoriety of Friday the 13th, the huge cruise ship Costa Concordia (Costa Concordia), carrying more than 4,200 people, crashed near the island of Giglio off the coast of Tuscany in Italy.

See all photos in the gallery

The name of the ship in literal translation means the coast of peace (consent, harmony). Costa Concordia was the largest ship in the Costa Crociere company, and in 2006 was in 10th place in the Top 10 largest cruise ships in the world.

The cruise liner Costa Concordia was built at the Italian shipyard Fincantieri in Sestri Ponente (a suburb of Genoa) in 2006 by order of Costa Crociere. At that time, in the world rankings, it was the 10th largest passenger ship and the largest for Costa. "Costa Concordia" became the lead ship in a series of six units.

Initially, Costa, founded by entrepreneur Giacomo Costa back in 1854, was Italian, but in 1997 it became international, and in 2000 it was acquired by the American cruise consortium Carnival. However, the company's ships continued to sail under the Italian flag, and their command staff was still predominantly Italian.

The contract for the construction of the ship was signed on January 19, 2002. The contract value was 450 million euros. Launching took place on September 2, 2005, the acceptance certificate was signed on June 30, 2006. At the Costa Concordia's christening ceremony seven days later, Czech supermodel Eva Herzigova acted as godmother. It is symbolic that the bottle of champagne thrown on board by the Czech diva did not break, which was considered a bad omen..

Costa Concordia had 13 decks; the maximum length of the vessel was 290.2 m, beam - 35.5 m, draft - 8.2 m, gross tonnage - 114,147 gross tonnage. The combined diesel-electric power plant included 6 diesel generators with a total capacity of 102,780 hp. and two electric motors with a capacity of 21 MW each. The maximum speed was 23 knots, the operational speed was 19.6 knots.

The Costa Concordia set off on its maiden voyage on July 14, 2006 and operated for several years on cruise lines in the Western Mediterranean. On the evening of January 13, 2012, the ship left the port of Civitavecchia and headed for Savona. It was a typical 7 Nights Winter Mediterranean cruise. At about 21:30 in the area of Giglio Island, when most of the passengers were having dinner in a restaurant, the liner hits a stone reef with its left side and gets an underwater hole 53 m long (from the 52nd frame to the 125th). Five compartments, from the third to the eighth, quickly fill with water, the main engines stop. "Costa Concordia" manages to pass by inertia a little more than a kilometer and turns her nose to the harbor of Giglio. Then, under the influence of the wind, she drifts and at about 10 pm she runs aground in the immediate vicinity of the coast. The vessel, designed to maintain buoyancy only when two compartments are flooded, begins to sink with a roll to starboard.

At the time of the disaster, there were 3,216 passengers from 62 countries and 1,023 crew members on board. Among the passengers were 108 Russians, 45 citizens of Ukraine, 7 citizens of Moldova, 3 - Kazakhstan and 3 - Belarus. In addition, three of our compatriots were members of the liner's crew.

The rescue operation was badly organized. Instead of immediately starting the evacuation of passengers, the captain of the liner was silent for 15 minutes, and then announced to the passengers that the ship had only minor problems with the generator. And only almost an hour after the accident, when the ship listed 30 degrees, an emergency alarm sounded. The landing of people in the boats was accompanied by panic and stampede. Only the proximity of the coast made it possible to avoid a huge number of victims.

The Costa Concordia remained at the wreck for two years and became a tourist attraction. A stream of tourists rushed to the island of Giglio. In the nearby town of San Stefano, located on the mainland, tour operators did business selling tickets for excursions to the site of the tragedy. However, the inhabitants of the island were not pleased with the ship's hull, which became a grave. In addition, they feared that fuel and sewage would begin to flow out of the liner. Therefore, they threatened the Costa Crociere company with a lawsuit if the half-sunk ship was not removed in a timely manner.

Pumping out of 2300 tons of fuel, oil and sewage was completed on March 24, 2012. A month later, it was announced that the American company Titan Salvage had won the tender for the lifting and evacuation of the vessel. Initially, the operation was expected to take seven to ten months. In fact, it turned out much more, since a large amount of preparatory work was required. An underwater platform was built under the bottom of the ship, and special counterweight pontoons were mounted on the port side, which, after filling with water, were supposed to put the liner on an even keel.

It is believed that the work performed has become the most expensive in the history of rescue operations. Their cost was about 250 million euros.

On February 12, 2015, the Grosseto City Court found Schettino guilty and sentenced him to 16 years in prison.

The total damage from the death of the Costa Concordia for the ship-owning company amounted to approximately 1.5 billion euros. And this, of course, without taking into account reputational losses.