On the night of January 13, 2012, the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia, carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew, struck a rock off the island of Giglio, Italy, while performing a close pass by the island — a "salute" maneuver ordered by her captain. The impact tore a gash some 50 meters (about 165 feet) long in the hull, flooding the engine rooms and knocking out the ship’s electrical power.
The ship drifted back toward the island and came to rest on her side in shallow water just outside Giglio’s harbor. The evacuation was delayed and confused — the order to abandon ship was not given until more than an hour after the impact — and 32 people died. Most of those aboard were rescued by the ship’s boats, by helicopters, and by local vessels from Giglio.
Italy’s Marine Casualties Investigative Body concluded that the accident was caused by the captain’s decision to leave the planned route and navigate too close to the shore at high speed, by the bridge team’s failure to monitor the maneuver, and by shortcomings in the emergency response, including delays in declaring the emergency and in mustering the passengers. Captain Francesco Schettino, who had left the ship before the evacuation was finished, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
The wreck became the largest ship ever successfully salvaged. In September 2013 the ship was rolled upright in the "parbuckling" operation, and in July 2014 she was towed to Genoa to be broken up. The accident led to tighter international rules on voyage planning, on muster drills held before departure, and on access to the bridge during difficult navigation.