[4] The reef is charted as an area known as Le Scole ('the rocks' in the local dialect),[5][6] about 800 metres (870 yd) south of the entrance to the harbour of Giglio Porto, on the island's east coast.

[39] Half an hour before the abandon-ship order, one crew member was recorded on video telling passengers at a muster station, "We have solved the problems we had and invite everyone to return to their cabins.

[50] Some passengers jumped into the water to swim to shore,[51] while others, ready to evacuate the vessel, were delayed by crew members up to 45 minutes, as they resisted immediately lowering the lifeboats.

"[12] Costa Cruises CEO Pier Luigi Foschi praised the crew and personnel, despite difficulties resulting from the apparent lack of direction from the ship's officers and problems in communication.

[71] Prime Minister Mario Monti announced his intention to propose to the President of the Republic to grant the gold medal for civil valor to the common people of Isola del Giglio and Monte Argentario for their conduct during the rescue.

[90] On 31 January, Italy's Civil Protection agency terminated the search in the submerged part of the ship because the deformed hull caused unacceptable safety concerns for divers.

Depending on the outcome of identification analyses of remains already found, it was stated that further search activities might be conducted in the wreck for the missing crew member Russel Rebello after it has been removed from the water.

As part of the recovery effort, a group of about 200 giant fan mussels Pinna nobilis were manually relocated to a nearby area to avoid the threat posed by subsequent engineering work.

Luigi Alcaro, head of maritime emergencies for Italy's Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), an agency of the Ministry of the Environment, stated that in a worst case, "[W]e could be talking years and dozens of millions of euros".

[122] EMSA-contracted stand-by oil spill response vessel Salina Bay arrived at the site of Costa Concordia on 28 January and remained on station as a precautionary measure during the fuel removal operation.

Civil Protection director Gabrielli stated that report was reassuring in that "It shows that a part of the seabed has got into the hull, basically increasing the ship'[s] stability.

[137] On 12 February 2012,[138] after weeks of weather delays,[117][139][140][141] Dutch salvage firm Smit International, acting jointly with Italian company NERI SpA,[142] started removing the vessel's 2,380 tonnes of heavy fuel oil.

[139][143][144] The operation (from June 2013 onwards) was delineated by Costa's Cristiano De Musso, Head of Corporate Communications, according to the following plan:[145] By 20 February 2012, the tanks in the forward part of the ship, which had held about two-thirds of the fuel, had been emptied,[146] but the following day defuelling was suspended because of poor weather conditions.

[90] On 3 February, Franco Gabrielli, the head of the Civil Protection Authority, told a meeting of residents of Giglio that the ship would be "refloated and removed whole" and not cut up for scrap on site.

[172] In June 2012, a barge was put in place, and the removal of the Concordia's radar, waterslide and funnel began before stabilisation of the ship to prevent further slippage down the sloped seabed.

[p 3] Costa also promised the return of all property stored in cabin safes, to the extent recoverable, and to grant passengers access to a programme for "psychological assistance".

A lawyer heading the team representing the victims said that it was "clear that the initial grounding of Costa Concordia could have been avoided and that subsequent failings in carrying out the evacuation process made a very bad situation far worse".

[245] On 24 February 2012, prosecutors alleged that Schettino had "slowed down the ship so that he could finish dinner in peace" and, to compensate for lost time, increased the speed to 16 knots (30 km/h) just before the sail-past.

[246] On 2 February 2012, the prosecutor's office in Paris, France opened a preliminary inquiry to question survivors to establish any criminal liability and "assess psychological damage".

[258] On 22 February 2012, four officers who were on board and three managers of Costa Cruises were placed formally "under investigation" and "face charges of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and failing to communicate with maritime authorities".

[268] When his trial resumed in October 2013, Domnica Cemortan (a 26-year-old Moldovan) admitted having been Schettino's lover and having been a non-paying passenger on the ship, and after the prosecution alleged that her presence on the bridge "generated confusion and distraction for the captain".

[276] Carnival Corporation announced on 30 January 2012 that its board of directors would engage outside consultants in various disciplines, including emergency response, organisation, training and implementation, to conduct a comprehensive review of the accident and the company's procedures.

[287][288] On 29 January 2012, at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Holland America Line made one passenger disembark from the cruise ship MS Westerdam for "non-compliance" during a mandatory muster drill.

[290] In an action some parliamentarians said was a reaction to the wrecking of Costa Concordia, the Italian government withdrew proposed legislation that would have reduced current restrictions on mineral exploration and production.

[293] Phillip Knightley called it the "most significant event in modern maritime history" because "every single safety procedure designed to make sea travel safe failed miserably".

News Agencies Getty Images and AP had an extensive coverage, from the day of the disaster to the removal of the wreck with the photographers Laura Lezza, Marco Secchi and Andrew Medichini documenting and capturing all phases.

[297] Newspaper Corriere della Sera stated that Italy owed the world a "convincing explanation" for the wreck and called for harsh punishment of those found responsible.

[301] In September 2012, recognising the best navigation and merchant marine professionals, Lloyd's of London awarded the title of Seafarers of the Year to the Costa Concordia crew for their exemplary behaviour during the shipwreck which saved most of the ship's passengers.

[303] The mayor of Giglio, Sergio Ortelli, and Costa Cruises agreed that a large boulder that was wedged in the hull would be removed from the side of the vessel and be positioned on the island as a memorial to the 32 people who lost their lives.

[307] According to Costa Cruises, its internal regulations require all crew members to complete Basic Safety Training, and to perform a ship evacuation drill every two weeks.