Costa fined EUR1 million
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Costa Cruises has accepted a EUR1 million fine handed to it by an Italian court, which will limit its liability for the incident in January 2012 that led to 32 people losing their lives off the coast of Giglio.
The fine will mean that Costa will face no further criminal action but can still be taken to court in civil cases. However there are six members of Costa’s staff that could still face trial, one of which is Captain Schettino, who still faces a possible manslaughter charge.
A hearing will start on Monday to decide whether the six staff will stand trial.
Although Costa will face no criminal action, the company still has a number of impending civil cases after its initial offer of EUR11,000 per person was rejected under the advice of lawyers. Passengers have been advised that they should be looking for compensation somewhere in the region of EUR125,000 per person.
UK newspaper The Independent quoted Giuliano Leuzzi, a lawyer for the national consumer group Codacons, which is leading a class action against the cruise operator as saying: “It is a regulated amount, but still, it hardly seems a lot given the magnitude of the disaster the company was involved in. “
He also commented on the criminal liability of Costa’s marine operations director Roberto Ferrarini who is one of the six to stand trial.
“This shows in what a confused way this whole process has been handled by the court in Grosseto,” he said.