Just weeks after the Costa Concordia was dragged from Tuscany’s Giglio island, where it has rested since crashing in January 2012, the ill-fated cruise ship has become a tourist attraction in another part of Italy.
Tourists at the port of Voltri, north-west Italy, can now pay €10 to take their own mini-cruise of the wreck.
The boats go within 200 metres of the Costa Concordia as a guide recounts the story of the tragedy, Tgcom24 reported.
Thirty-two people were killed when the cruise ship struck the rocks of Giglio, leading to the world’s largest maritime salvage operation.
Francesco Schettino – dubbed “Captain Coward” for allegedly abandoning ship while passengers were still on board – is being tried for manslaughter over the deaths and could face up to 20 years in prison.
Despite the criminal case against him, Schettino last month gave a lecture to university students on best emergency practices.
READ MORE: Outrage as Concordia skipper gives safety talk
He has continued to assert his innocence, this week saying his should not be blamed for the crash.
“It was an accident, a cursed accident. Even today it’s a wound that’s difficult to heal. But they can’t place all the blame on me,” Schettino was quoted by Ansa as saying.
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