On January 13, 2012, the giant Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia capsized and sank off Isola del Giglio, Tuscany, after striking an underwater rock, claiming 32 lives. In August 2014, in the midst of the salvage operation, photographer Jonathan Danko Kielkowski secretly snuck aboard the ship to document it in photographs.
“The sinking of the Costa Concordia, which occurred almost exactly 100 years after the Titanic, is often interpreted as a portent of the ongoing European crisis,” writes Kielkowski. “It was August 2014 when I decided to swim out to the remains of the Costa Concordia and document what was left, after the ship had been underwater for over two and a half years and before the dismantling process began.”
The bridge, parts of which have already been removed for scrap.
Some parts were never submerged, and so aren’t particularly damaged.
Captain Francesco Schettino, aka ‘Captain Coward’, fled the ship when the disaster struck, leaving the stricken vessel without a captain or a clear plan. The resulting confusion and panic greatly contributed to the deaths. In 2015 he was sentenced to 16 years in prison on, among other things, 32 counts of manslaughter.
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Part of the casino.
Part of the lower decks on the starboard side, which were all completely submerged.
All photos credited to Jonathan Danko Kielkowski.