The ship lying on its side off the coast of Italy became a symbol of a country in need, including a country with incompetent leadership.
The Costa Concordia ran aground off the island of Giglio ten years ago.
The passenger. “The men of the occupation saved our lives.” That’s what Toni Tanner says after the misfortune of the NZZ. He was having dinner with his wife on the “Costa Concordia” when it suddenly rumbled. Shortly afterwards, the cruise ship tilts, the dishes slide off the tables. The passengers rush to their cabins, get their life jackets and passports. The crew members try to calm down: “Don’t panic!” They are nervous about this themselves.
On January 13th, the “Costa Concordia” passed too close to the shore of Giglio Island. The captain wants to “kiss” the island, as the media later report. He is changing course at random, perhaps to impress a certain young woman, it is speculated. At 9:45 p.m., the 290-meter-long cruise ship hits a rock and leaks. It’s stuck on the ocean floor and leaning to one side, on and on. Water first penetrates the lower, then the higher decks. In the accident, 32 of 4229 inmates are killed. Later another diver will be killed during rescue work.
The ship lying sideways in the water became a symbol of Italy at that time, at the height of the sovereign debt crisis: tilted, sinking.
The captain. “What have I done! I’m at the end of the sea! ” According to an eyewitness, Francesco Schettino had a brief moment of truth and self-knowledge after the damage was done. The captain quickly leaves his ship and is one of the first to disembark, along with some officers. He leaves passengers and crew to their fate. He does not send a cry for help.
Schettino becomes Italy’s antihero, a symbol of failure in leadership and a lack of sense of responsibility. A little before that, Silvio Berlusconi had to leave his command bridge – the parallel is obvious.
The Vice Mayor. “When the ship tipped over, the corridors grew dark. There were shouts and shouts, despair. One heard that a drama was going on. ” Mario Pellegrini takes his boat at the port of Giglio and goes out to the cruise ship to see if he can help. He can free nine people from a deck standing in the water. The rescued report of corpses drifting through the corridors.
Video images show the passengers in orange protective vests, crowded together in the aisles of the ship. Some make phone calls, others film with their cell phone cameras. The faces show different states of mind from composure to fear. The people are waiting. When nothing happens, panic arises.
Many residents of Giglio Island helped that night. They stand for the Italy that lends a hand and does the right thing.
The port overseer. “Vada a bordo, cazzo!” With the rough command to Schettino Gregorio de Falco famous in one fell swoop. From his observation post in the port control of Livorno, he notices that something is wrong with the “Costa Concordia”. He made it clear to Schettino by radio that his seat was on board and not on land. Schettino tries to talk himself out of it: he is coordinating the rescue from the bank.
There is no one left on the ship’s bridge to give the order to evacuate. Almost an hour passed before a crew member gave the instruction over the loudspeaker to leave the ship on his own initiative and in obedience to the emergency. During this hour the ship leans more and more to one side.
De Falco is later elected to parliament. One who tells the failures at the top that they are failures – that figure goes well with the protest party Cinque spot. But they soon expel him because he doesn’t always vote as the party leadership demands.
The pastor. “There were plastic cups on the altars.” Don Lorenzo Pasquotti opens his church to the castaways. Families come first, then old people, then younger ones. They sit frozen and soaked on the pews, on the altar steps. They wrap themselves in carpets, shawls, and chasubles. People from the town of Giglio bring food and drink. The church becomes a mass camp.
Outside the ship, the evacuation is dramatic. Passenger Tanner’s boat gets tangled. The crew members push it off the ship’s side with oars. Inmates are instructed to slide over to the ocean side, then to the side of the ship to shift their weight. It rumbles and sways again and again. Finally the lifeboat touches down on the water and the engine starts. Everyone applauds.
The ship is a hierarchical organization. The crew understand their job, but they only act on orders. Waiting longer would have required more victims.
The captain. “I didn’t get on the lifeboat. I fell on the roof of the lifeboat. ” This is what Schettino claims after the disaster. So the laws of physics ensure that he ends up in the lifeboat that night. With outrageous excuses and perversions, the break captain tries to steal his responsibility. At an appearance at the venerable university La Sapienza he lectures on “Panic Control”. The public reacts with a mixture of outrage and amusement. Young people organize “Schettino parties”.
In court, Schettino is charged with multiple willful homicides and other offenses. Hundreds of witnesses are questioned, the process runs through three levels. In 2017 the captain was finally sentenced to 16 years in prison, he is currently in Rebibbia prison in Rome. Thanks to good management, the now 61-year-old is expected to be released under house arrest soon. Schettino considers himself innocent, he is the victim of a media hunt, a scapegoat. Apparently, however, he no longer thinks that he will return to the controls of a large ship.
The other break captain, however, Silvio Berlusconi, sees himself called to be President of Italy. His entourage points to his outstanding qualities as a political leader and to his international network of contacts.
The scrapman. “Right now it is important to hold the ship straight.” Ferdinando Garré and 250 workers dismantle the “Costa Concordia”. The ship was salvaged in a major operation in Giglio and then transferred to Genoa. Now it has to be specially secured so that it doesn’t tip over and sink again. Some things can be reused, such as the ship’s propellers or parts of the engines. The ship weighed 110,000 tons, of which 100,000 tons are being recycled. The costs for salvage and disposal amount to around 1.5 billion euros. The “Costa Concordia” was built in Genoa, it cost 450 million euros new.
Never before has such a large ship been scrapped in Europe. The scrapping of ships is moved – quite carelessly – to Asian or African coasts, where health and environmental protection do not play a role.
New regulations are now intended to ensure that ships are disposed of using correct procedures. In Italy, thanks to the “Costa Concordia”, they have already gained experience with this. Again in Genoa the great bridge will collapse in summer 2018, a new symbolic and traumatic event for Italy.