Doha - Italy's highest court has upheld a 16-year jail sentence for the captain of the capsized Costa Concordia luxury liner for his role in the 2012 shipwreck, which killed 32 people.

Francesco Schettino, 56, was originally found guilty in 2015 of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning his passengers.

Friday's ruling exhausted his appeals process, with the court rejecting his claim that others bore the blame for the disaster.

Free pending the decision, Schettino is expected to start his prison sentence in the coming hours.

Schettino was commanding the vessel, which was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew, on January 13, 2012, when it hit rocks off the Tuscan holiday island of Giglio, tearing a hole in its side and eventually forcing it to keel over.

Investigators severely criticised his handling of the disaster, accusing him of bringing the 290 m long vessel too close to shore.

Schettino had also been accused of delaying evacuation and losing control of the operation during which he abandoned ship before all the 4 200 passengers and crew had been rescued.

The captain's lawyers had insisted the accident and its deadly consequences were primarily due to organisational failings for which the ship's owner, Costa Crociere, its Indonesian helmsman and the Italian coastguard should have shared the blame.

They also argued that it was not the collision, but rather the chaos that ensued due to the ship losing power that was the direct cause of the deaths. Schettino could not be blamed for the mechanical failures, they said.

Costa Crociere avoided potential criminal charges by accepting partial responsibility and agreeing to pay a one million euro fine.

Five of its employees received non-custodial sentences after concluding plea bargains early in the investigation. </s> The captain of the Costa Concordia cruise liner has begun a 16-year jail sentence for wrecking the ship in a disaster that killed 32 people.

Francesco Schettino was convicted of manslaughter in 2015 after he steered the ship onto rocks after veering to close to the shore off Tuscany.

Despite the conviction he had avoided jail by going through a series of appeals.

Family members of the victims expressed relief Schettino was finally behind bars after Italy's highest court upheld the conviction and sentence.

Michelina Suriano, one of the lawyers representing the victims, said "finally Schettino begins to pay for his wrongdoing." </s> (ROME) — The Italian captain of the Costa Concordia cruise liner that crashed into a reef in 2012, killing 32 people, was headed to a Rome prison after losing his final appeals bid.

The Court of Cassation, Italy's highest criminal tribunal, in a ruling Friday evening upheld Francesco Schettino's lower court convictions and his 16-year prison sentence.

Schettino was convicted of manslaughter and causing the shipwreck while captaining the luxury liner sailing near Giglio Island off Tuscany. He was also convicted of abandoning the capsizing vessel with passengers and crew still aboard.

Michelina Suriano, one of the lawyers representing the victims, said "finally Schettino begins to pay for his wrongdoing."

The wreckage, raised in a dramatic engineering feat, was eventually towed away to become scrap. </s> The former captain of the Costa Concordia cruise liner was sentenced to 16 years in prison on Friday by Italy's highest court for his role in the 2012 shipwreck, which killed 32 people off the Tuscan holiday island of Giglio.

Francesco Schettino was originally found guilty in 2015 of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning his passengers. Friday's ruling marked the end of the appeals process, with the court upholding the initial verdict.

Free pending the decision, Schettino, 56, reported to a Rome prison to start his sentence as soon as he was told of the verdict, his lawyer Saverio Senese said.

"As always, Italy needs to find a scapegoat," Senese told reporters, adding that his client had waited for word of his fate alone outside the prison gates rather than stay at home with his family.

Schettino has always maintained that he was not solely responsible for the disaster. His lawyer said he might appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. "I think there have been serious abuses here," he said. "I never give up."

The Costa Concordia was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew, when it hit rocks off Giglio, tearing a hole in its side and eventually keeling over.

Schettino was lambasted by the Italian media and branded "Captain Coward" for leaving the stricken ship while a chaotic night-time rescue operation was in full flow. Critics accused him of bringing shame to the whole country through his actions. </s> The Italian captain of the Costa Concordia cruise liner that crashed into a reef killing 32 people is set to begin his lengthy prison sentence after losing his final appeals bid.

The Court of Cassation, Italy's highest criminal tribunal, in a ruling Friday evening upheld Francesco Schettino's lower court convictions and his 16-year prison sentence.

Schettino, dubbed 'Captain Coward,' was convicted of manslaughter and causing the shipwreck while captaining the luxury liner sailing near Giglio Island off Tuscany on January 13, 2012.

He was also convicted of abandoning the capsizing vessel with passengers and crew still aboard.

Michelina Suriano, one of the lawyers representing the victims, said 'finally Schettino begins to pay for his wrongdoing.'

In February 2015 the captain was given ten years for manslaughter, five for causing a shipwreck, one for abandoning ship, and a further month for giving false information to port authorities.

But as is the case with most Italian criminal cases he was not sent straight to jail but released pending his appeal.

The cruise ship was heading out on a week-long cruise around the Mediterranean but capsized soon after hitting rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio.

Schettino, 55, gained the name 'Captain Coward' after it was revealed he had fled the ship before the 4,200 passengers were safely ashore.

The Naples-born captain resented the accusation of cowardice and unprofessionalism and claimed he had 'fallen' into a lifeboat as the Concordia rolled.

'I will fight for ever to prove that I did not abandon the Costa Concordia,' he said after his conviction.

During his trial Schettino was accused of showing off to his lover, Moldovan nightclub dancer Domnica Cemortan, when he steered the ship too close to the island as a 'salute'.

However he blamed communication problems with the Indonesian helmsman.

The court ruling was welcomed by a lawyer representing relatives of the victims, who said it represented justice at last.

When he launched his appeal that the prosecution also simultaneously appealed against the sentence, which they claim is too lenient and Schettino should have been given 26 years.

The company sidestepped potential criminal charges in 2013 by accepting partial responsibility and agreeing to pay a one million euro (£780,000) fine.

Five of Schettino's colleagues were also jailed for up to three years in earlier cases.

The wreckage, raised in a dramatic engineering feat, was eventually towed away to become scrap. </s> Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption Francesco Schettino was sentenced in 2015

Italy's highest court has upheld the 16-year jail sentence given to the captain of the Costa Concordia, which capsized in 2012 killing 32 people.

Francesco Schettino had handed himself in to the Rebibbia prison in Rome after the verdict, his lawyer said.

Schettino was sentenced in 2015 after a court found him guilty of manslaughter, causing a maritime accident and abandoning ship.

The cruise ship capsized after hitting rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio.

Schettino was nicknamed "Captain Coward" by the media, after the coastguard released recordings of him in a lifeboat resisting orders to return to the stricken vessel.

More than 4,000 people were aboard at the time and were forced into a chaotic evacuation.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption How the Costa Concordia capsized

Prosecutors say he steered too close to the island to show off to a dancer, Domnica Cemortan, who was with him at the helm.

But he blamed communication problems with the Indonesian helmsman.

The court ruling was welcomed by a lawyer representing relatives of the victims, who said it represented justice at last.

The sentence included 10 years for manslaughter, five for causing the shipwreck, one for abandoning the ship before passengers and crew were clear, and one month for lying to the authorities afterwards.

Costa Crociere, the company that owned the ship, sidestepped potential criminal charges in 2013 by agreeing to pay a €1m ($1.1m; £769,000) fine.

Five of Schettino's colleagues were also jailed for up to three years in earlier cases. </s> The captain of the doomed Costa Concordia cruise liner turned himself in Friday after Italy's highest court upheld his 16-year prison sentence for the tragedy that killed 32 people.

Francesco Schettino, dubbed "Captain Coward" by the press for abandoning the stricken ship, passed through the gates of the Rebibbia jail in Rome as soon as the judges ruled.

Schettino, 56, was convicted in 2015 -- three years after the incident -- of multiple counts of manslaughter, causing a maritime accident and abandoning ship before all passengers and crew had been evacuated.

"He said 'I trust in the justice system, the verdict must be respected. I'm handing myself in right now'," his lawyer Saverio Senese said after speaking to Schettino by telephone.

Alessandra Guarini, a lawyer for relatives of the victims, said: "Justice has finally been served. I hope this brings a bit of serenity to those who lost their loved ones."

The victims included a five-year old girl and her father, a musician who gave up his seat in a lifeboat for someone else, and a woman who died on impact when she plunged from the sinking liner into the freezing waters.

"Schettino really deserved this sentence. For his lies and for the lack of respect he had, even afterwards, towards the victims of that terrible shipwreck," said Elio Vincenzi, husband of a woman who drowned.

Prosecutors argued that Schettino's recklessness was to blame for the fate of the giant ship, which struck rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio on the night of January 13, 2012, and toppled over.

Schettino was widely ridiculed during the trial for insisting he did not abandon ship but slipped off the Costa Concordia as it rolled over, falling onto a lifeboat which carried him ashore against his wishes.

In a widely-quoted phone call a coast guard official is heard upbraiding Schettino and ordering him to "get back on board, for fuck's sake" -- an order the former captain refused to follow.

The violation of the ancient code of the sea which states a captain must be the last man off a sinking ship only accounted for one year of the sentence handed down by a three-judge panel in the Tuscan town of Grosseto.



 The wrecked cruise liner Costa Concordia in the harbour of the Tuscan island of Giglio on January 16th, 2012, having run aground after hitting underwater rocks three days earlier. File photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP

During the first 19-month trial, Schettino was accused of showing off when he steered the ship too close to the island while entertaining a female friend.

Schettino's lawyers insisted the accident and its deadly consequences were primarily due to organisational failings for which the ship's owner, Costa Crociere, its Indonesian helmsman and the Italian coastguard should have shared the blame.

"Schettino is the only one to have paid a price. He was made the scapegoat," lawyer Senese said, adding that the defence team would now consider an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

The ex-captain "admits he is responsible but not that he is guilty, because on the Concordia there was a command team, he was not alone and the ship had many problems," he added. </s> ROME, May 12 (Reuters) - The former captain of the Costa Concordia cruise liner was sentenced to 16 years in prison on Friday by Italy's highest court for his role in the 2012 shipwreck, which killed 32 people off the island of Giglio, a court official said.

Francesco Schettino was originally found guilty in 2015 of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning his passengers. Friday's ruling exhausted his appeals process, with the court rejecting his claim that others bore the blame for the disaster.

Free pending the decision, the 56-year-old Schettino is expected to start his jail sentence in the coming hours.

Schettino was commanding the vessel, which was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew, when it hit rocks off the Tuscan holiday island, tearing a hole in its side and eventually forcing it to keel over. (Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Isla Binnie) </s> ROME (Reuters) - The former captain of the Costa Concordia cruise liner was sentenced to 16 years in prison on Friday by Italy’s highest court for his role in the 2012 shipwreck, which killed 32 people off the Tuscan holiday island of Giglio.

Captain of the Costa Concordia cruise liner Francesco Schettino arrives for his trial in Grosseto February 11, 2015. REUTERS/Max Rossi/Files

Francesco Schettino was originally found guilty in 2015 of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning his passengers. Friday’s ruling marked the end of the appeals process, with the court upholding the initial verdict.

Free during the prolonged legal battles, Schettino, 56, reported to a Rome prison to start his sentence as soon as he was told of the verdict, his lawyer Saverio Senese said.

“As always, Italy needs to find a scapegoat,” Senese told reporters, adding that his client had waited for word of his fate alone outside the prison gates rather than stay at home with his family in southern Italy.

The Costa Concordia was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew, when it hit rocks off Giglio on a chill January night, tearing a hole in its side and eventually keeling over.

Schettino was lambasted by the Italian media and branded “Captain Coward” for leaving the stricken ship while a chaotic night-time rescue operation was in full flow. Critics accused him of bringing shame to the whole country through his actions.

At his first trial prosecutors had asked for a 26-year term. Schettino admitted some responsibility but denied blame for the deaths that occurred during the evacuation and said he was not solely to blame.

His lawyer said he might appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. “I think there have been serious abuses here,” Senese said. “I never give up.”

Investigators severely criticized Schettino’s handling of the disaster, accusing him of sailing too close to shore to perform a spectacular “salute” to Giglio for the benefit of the ship’s head waiter, who came from the island.

Schettino was also accused of delaying the evacuation and abandoning his ship prematurely. He said he had been thrown off the vessel as it tilted and had landed on the roof a lifeboat.

Humiliatingly, a furious coast guard official had to order him to return to his ship and take charge of the rescue.

He was left alone on the stand to answer for the disaster after the ship’s owner, the Costa Cruises subsidiary of Carnival Corp, paid a fine of 1 million euros ($1.3 million at the time) and prosecutors accepted plea bargains from five other officials.

The massive, rusting hulk of the Costa Concordia was left abandoned on its side for two-and-a-half years before it was towed away in the most expensive maritime wreck recovery in history. The last body was not recovered until 2014.

Schettino’s defense team contended that he prevented an even worse disaster by steering the ship close to the island as it sank.
The Italian Supreme Court of Cassation upholds Francesco Schettino's 16-year sentence for his role as Captain of the Costa Concordia in the deaths of 32 people.