MS Costa Concordia is a Concordia-class cruise ship. Costa Cruises, a subsidiary of British-American Carnival Corporation & Plc, owns and operates the ship.
Fincantieri's Sestri Ponente yards in Italy built the ship. The name Concordia was meant to express the wish for "continuing harmony, unity, and peace between European nations."
She is the first vessel of the Concordia ship class, with sisters Costa Serena, Costa Pacifica, Costa Favolosa, Costa Fascinosa and Carnival Splendor built for Carnival Cruise Lines. Costa Concordia entered service in July 2006 and was one of the largest ships to be built in Italy, at 114,500 GT. The later Carnival Dream class weighed 130,000 GRT, and are also built in Fincantieri.
On 22 November 2008, Costa Concordia suffered damage to her bow when high winds over the Sicilian city of Palermo pushed the ship against its dock. There were no injuries and repairs started soon after.
On 13 January 2012, the Costa Concordia ran aground and partially sank on the western coast of Italy just off the shore of Isola del Giglio. Of the 4,200 passengers and crew, at least eleven people were killed, including ten passengers and one crew member and 23 still missing. The situation is still ongoing. People were angry with the ship's captain because he left the ship. He was supposed to stay on the ship and help the other passengers get off safely. The captain's "error" took the ship off of its programmed route.