ROME — An Italian court convicted Francesco Schettino, the captain of the cruise liner that capsized in 2012 and left 32 people dead, on Wednesday and sentenced him to just over 16 years in prison for his role in the maritime disaster, one of the worst in modern Italian history.
Captain Schettino, 54, was convicted of multiple counts of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning the vessel, the Costa Concordia, before all of its 4,229 passengers and crew members had been evacuated.
The captain’s lawyers said they would appeal the verdict, and the captain would remain free in the meantime. Under Italian law, the appeals process can take years to resolve. The captain was not in the courtroom when the verdict was read.
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The company has paid €1 million (about $1.13 million) in administrative sanctions in connection with the disaster. Under Italian law, companies can be held responsible for their employees’ conduct, but the ship’s operator was not indicted in the case.
The trial took 19 months to complete. It was held in a theater because of the large number of people involved, including hundreds of witnesses who discussed complicated technical details.
