'Costa Concordia' Owners Fined in Italian Court

Italian cruise firm Costa Crociere has been fined €1-million (US$1.3-million) for the sinking which killed 32 people.

Costa had asked for a plea bargain deal to respond to the administrative sanctions, which under Italian law are for companies whose employees commit crimes, and Judge Valeria Montesarchio accepted that plea after a hearing at the Tuscan tribunal, reports 'Herald Scotland'.

Costa, a division of Miami-based Carnival, has sought to blame the disaster entirely on Captain Francesco Schettino, and prosecutors are seeking indictments for Schettino and five other people on charges including manslaughter. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Monday but it is not clear if the judge will make a decision then on whether to order a trial. According to 'Herald Scotland', among the five are the helmsman, two other officials who were on the bridge and the Costa official on land who was managing the crisis.

Source: Herald Scotland