Italian officials are suing the owner of the doomed Costa Concordia cruise ship for an eye-watering $275 million — over claims the liner disaster destroyed local tourism.
Costa Cruises, a unit of Carnival Corp., was hit with the mega-lawsuits by officials from Tuscany and the island of Giglio on Monday, according to reports.
They allege that the January 2012 disaster contributed to a major decline in visitors to the area, which they say will take “years” of investment to rectify.
The Costa Concordia was carrying 4,000 passengers and crew when it struck rocks off the island and capsized. The tragedy killed 32 people.
The ship remained partially submerged for more than two years. It was finally raised and towed away in July.
“We will ask Costa for 30 million euros ($37.5 million) in damages to Tuscany’s image,” Tuscany’s regional president Enrico Rossi told a court in Grosseto on Monday, Reuters reported.
“To reconstruct the image of Tuscany as a top tourist destination will require years of work, substantial investments and costly national and international advertising campaigns,” Rossi said.
Carlo Scarpa, a consultant for Giglio’s local government, also asked the same court for $238 million in damages.
He said the tragedy had caused the island to lose more than 45,000 potential visitors, and had “tarnished” its image.
The lawsuit came as the sunken ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, is tried on multiple charges, including manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship.
A verdict is expected next year.
And it follows a series of financial settlements already settled by Costa Cruises.
In 2013, the company paid a $1.25 million fine to the Italian state in a bid to avoid a criminal trial.
And shortly after the shipwreck, it also agreed to pay $14,000 to each of the 3,000 passengers who lost items and suffered psychological trauma.
