Costa Concordia

Costa Concordia (Italian pronunciation: [ˈkɔsta koŋˈkɔrdja]) is a Concordia-class cruise ship owned and operated by Costa Cruises. It was built at Fincantieri's Sestri Ponente yards in Italy. The name Concordia (see similarity to the SST) was intended to express the wish for "continuing harmony, unity, and peace between European nations".
She is the first ship in the Concordia class, with sisters Costa Serena, Costa Pacifica, Costa Favolosa, Costa Fascinosa and Carnival Splendor built for Carnival Cruise Lines. Costa Concordia entered service in July 2006 and is one of the largest ships to be built in Italy, at 114,500 GT; the later Carnival Dream class are 130,000 GRT, and also built in Fincantieri.
The ship garnered international attention on 13 January 2012 when she was wrecked off Isola del Giglio, Italy, resulting in the evacuation of all of those on board. According to early reports, at least 5 people died, 42 others were injured, and 17 are still unaccounted for.

Concept and construction
The then-unnamed ship was ordered on 19 January 2004 in Fincantieri and built in the Sestri Ponente yard in Genoa, as yard number 6122. She was launched at Sestri Ponente on 2 September 2005, and at the time of her construction was the largest Italian cruise ship ever built. She was delivered to Costa on 30 June 2006.

Description
Costa Concordia is 290.20 metres (952 ft 1 in) long, with a beam of 35.50 metres (116 ft 6 in) and a draught of 8.20 metres (26 ft 11 in). She is propelled by six Wärtsilä diesel engines of 75,600 kilowatts (101,400 hp), which could propel her at 19.6 knots (36.3 km/h).
Amenities
Costa Concordia has 1,500 cabins; 505 have private balconies and 55 have direct access to Samsara Spa; 58 suites have private balconies and 12 have direct access to the spa. Costa Concordia has one of the world's largest exercise facility areas at sea, the Samsara Spa, a two-level, 6,000 m2 (65,000 sq ft) fitness center, with gym, a thalassotherapy pool, sauna, Turkish bath and a solarium. The ship has four swimming pools, two with retractable covers, five jacuzzis, five spas, and a poolside screen on the pool deck.
There are five onboard restaurants, with Club Concordia and Samsara taking reservations-only dining. There are thirteen bars, including a cigar and cognac bar and a coffee and chocolate bar.
Entertainment options include a three-level theater, casino, and a discotheque. There is a children's area equipped with PlayStation products. The ship has a Grand Prix motor racing simulator and an Internet café.

November 2008

On 22 November 2008, the Costa Concordia suffered damage to her bow when high winds over the Sicilian city of Palermo pushed the ship alongside its dock. There were no injuries and repairs started soon after.

January 2012
On Friday 13 January 2012, at around 21:00 local time (UTC+1), the Costa Concordia ran aground on a reef off Isola del Giglio and began listing heavily towards the starboard side, resulting in the deaths of five of the 4,229 people on board. As of 15 January, about 15 people were still unaccounted for. Three people were rescued from the ship that day, over 24 hours after the accident: two South Korean passengers and an Italian crew member.
An Italian broker and industry experts believed the ship is a constructive total loss, with damages to be as high or higher than $500 million.[17] Costa has not confirmed the fate of the ship yet.