Italian ship captain, Francesco Schettino, nicknamed "Captain Coward" after he abandoned a sinking ship that would ultimately claim 32 lives, is finally starting his 16-year prison sentence.
In 2012, the Costa Concordia made international headlines when it when it collided with rocks along Giglio Island, located off the coast of Tuscany, Italy. The collision tore a 160-foot hole in the hull of the ship, flooding the engine room and causing the ship to list towards the island, where she capsized a few hours later.
The Concordia was the largest passenger ship to ever wreck, with more than twice the number of passengers as that of theTitanic.
When it sank near Giglio, the ship was well loff course. At the time, most media reported that Captain Schettino performed the risky maneuver past the island in order to impress his girlfriend. Schettino has denied the rumor, stating instead that he wanted to salute a retired captain who lives on the island while also doing a "favor" for a waiter onboard the ship, also from the island.
Whatever the reason for the sail by, the ship veered too close to the island and hit rocks located just off shore. Although the ship immediately began taking on water, It took more than an hour for the crew to call for an evacuation and another six hours to fully evacuate the more than 4,000 passengers and crew onboard.
During the evacuation, Captain Schettino himself abandoned ship well before all passengers had been evacuated which earned him the nickname "Captain Coward." He further sealed his reputation after a now-famous cell phone conversation with Coast Guard captain Gregorio De Falco, who repeatedly ordered Schettino back on the ship. Schettino did not comply.
Costa Crociere, owner of the Concordia has publicly said the captain made "serious errors of judgment" and also conducted a maneuver that was "unauthorized, unapproved and unknown to Costa."
[READMORE]READ MORE: Watch: A Ghostly Tour of the Costa Concordia[/READMORE]
In 2015, Schettino was found guilty of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship. He was then sentenced to 16 years in prison. Previously, in 2013, five other crew members were also found guilty of manslaughter and negligence. Each was sentenced to nearly three years in prison.
Schettino, however, remained free during his appeal process. On Friday, Schettino's appeal process ran out and the captain has finally started the sentence handed down two years ago.
According to the Los Angeles Times, upon hearing the verdict, Schettino called his attorney, Saverio Senese and told him, "I trust in the justice system; the verdict must be respected. I'm handing myself in right now."
[READMORE]READ MORE: Costa Concordia Captain Found Guilty[/READMORE]
Senese, on the other hand, told reporters that he is "extremely bitter that only Schettino has paid for this."
Although Costa Crociere paid a fine of one million euros to avoid a trial, many say the fine was too low.
"As always happens in Italy, we need scapegoats," said Senese.
Meanwhile, Schettino has said he will approach being in prison the same way he approached being a "ship boy."
"I started from the bottom and worked my way up to become captain," said Schettino in an interview with Italy's Il Messaggero. "Even that January night after the shipwreck when they detained me in a cell it felt like I was back in that old cabin as a young sailor," reports U.K. publication, The Telegraph.
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