Italian judge fines Costa $1.3 million for Concordia cruise ship wreck
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A judge in Tuscany has fined Italian cruise line Costa Crociere SpA 1 million euros ($1.3 million) in administrative sanctions for the 2012 wreckage of the Concordia cruise ship that killed 32 people.
Costa had asked for a plea bargain agreement to respond to the sanctions, which are foreseen for companies when employees commit crimes. On Tuesday Judge Valeria Montesarchio of the Grosseto tribunal accepted the plea.
Costa, a division of Carnival Corp., has sought to blame the disaster entirely on Capt. Francesco Schettino, who rammed the Concordia into a reef off the Tuscan island of Giglio on Jan. 13, 2012, causing it to take on water and capsize.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Grosseto prosecutors are seeking indictments for Schettino and five others on manslaughter and other charges; a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday.