Costa Concordia: The Investigation of a Disaster That Should never Have Happened.

On the evening of 13 January 2012, the luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia departed Civitavecchia carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew. Within hours, she lay mortally wounded against the rocks off the Italian island of Giglio, becoming one of the most infamous maritime disasters of the modern era.

Why did one of the world’s most sophisticated passenger ships sail so dangerously close to shore?

How did a routine cruise become an international rescue operation?

What really happened on the bridge during those critical minutes before impact?

In this meticulously researched investigation, former Royal Navy sailor and investigative author Bill Stewart reconstructs the disaster step by step, following the evidence from departure to collision, from the evacuation to the courtroom, and from the official inquiries to the lasting lessons that reshaped maritime safety.

Rather than relying on sensational headlines, Stewart examines the documented facts, navigational decisions, engineering realities and human factors that combined to produce a tragedy that should never have happened.

Inside you’ll discover:

• The planning and execution of the fatal voyage
• The bridge decisions that altered the ship’s course
• The collision with Le Scole reef and the progressive flooding that followed
• The dramatic night-time evacuation of more than 4,000 people
• The extraordinary salvage operation that captured worldwide attention
• The criminal investigation and legal consequences
• The lasting changes to international passenger ship safety

Written in Bill Stewart’s calm, evidence-led investigative style, Costa Concordia is more than the story of a shipwreck. It is an examination of leadership, decision-making and professional seamanship under pressure.

For readers of maritime history, disaster investigation and true events, this book provides a compelling account of one of the defining maritime accidents of the twenty-first century.