Cruise ship sinks off western coast of Italy

A luxury cruise liner operated by Carnival Corp. ran aground off the coast of Tuscany, Italy on January 13 at approximately 9:30 pm local time. The 4,229 people on board were evacuated, but early reports say that at least five people died and another 42 were injured.  Fifteen passengers were still unaccounted for by the end of January 15.  The ship’s captain has been arrested and is accused of manslaughter, causing the wreckage and abandoning ship, said Italian prosecutors.

The Costa Concordia entered service for Costa Cruises in July 2006 as the largest ship built in Italy at the time, 290 metres long, containing 1,502 cabins and costing €450 million.

The Costa Concordia ran aground on a reef near Isola del Giglio, having left Civitavecchi, Italy at the beginning of a seven-day cruise.

An Italian broker told local media that he believes the ship will be a total loss, with damages expected to exceed $500 million.

Bloomberg reports that the sunken cruise ship was insured by companies including Assicurazoni Generali SpA, RSA Insurance Group plc and XL Group Plc. Sources with knowledge of the policies say that the insurers are facing costs of about €405 million.