Concordia operator fined €1m as it accepts limited responsibility

Italy’s Costa Crociere, the biggest cruise operator in Europe, has accepted limited responsibility for the Costa Concordia disaster, as the employer of some of those under investigation over a shipwreck tragedy in which 32 people died.

A court ruled the company will have to pay a fine of €1m and will no longer be investigated for alleged responsibility in the disaster. Costa will instead aim to take part in the expected trial as an injured party.

“It is a balanced solution,” the company’s lawyer, Marco De Luca, told reporters in Grosseto in Tuscany where the court hearing was held and where preliminary hearings will begin on Monday to decide whether the accused should face trial.