Picture this: you’re on vacation, enjoying the start of a Mediterranean cruise. Then the ship suddenly lurches violently. It’s the early hours of the voyage, just after dinner, when the sound of tearing metal echoes through the halls. Panic ripples through the passengers. People scramble for lifeboats, and as you fight your way to safety, one question nags at your mind: Where’s the captain? But Captain Francesco Schettino, a man known for breaking the rules, isn’t at his post. Instead, the maverick captain has already abandoned ship, leaving thousands of passengers behind on the sinking vessel.

Francesco Schettino had earned a reputation as a risk-taker long before the Costa Concordia struck rocks near the island of Giglio on January 13, 2012. The disaster that left 32 passengers dead and resulted in his 16-year prison sentence was not an isolated event, but the result of years of allegedly reckless behavior. And the Italian courts weren’t having it. It’s a time-honored tradition that the captain of a vessel has sacred duties to their ship, its crew, and passengers. While the days of a captain steadfastly “going down with the ship” are past, the responsibility to help the people aboard has been codified into law. Schettino tested these laws—and lost.

The Maverick Captain

Schettino wasn’t your typical rule-abiding captain. He had a history of pushing boundaries and taking risks. In 2008, while commanding the Costa Concordia, the ship crashed into a dock, damaging its bow. He blamed strong winds and kept his job. Then, in 2010, Schettino allegedly caused damage to another ship, AIDAblu, while maneuvering into the German port of Warnemünde at too high a speed. Again, his career sailed on unharmed.

More controversially, Schettino was rumored to engage in unprofessional behavior aboard his ships. Reports surfaced that he was allegedly seen drinking and doing drugs in front of passengers, though these claims were never proven. His personal life only fueled the gossip. A captain–especially one with a wife and daughter–shouldn’t bring his mistress along for a cruise. But it was later revealed that Schettino had brought Moldovan dancer Domnica Cemortan aboard the Concordia for that fateful voyage.

On January 13, 2012, as the Costa Concordia set sail from the port of Civitavecchia, Schettino wasn’t content to stick to the approved route. Instead, he piloted the massive cruise liner closer to the island of Giglio, performing an unsanctioned sail-by salute—an act of bravado he was known for. According to Costa Cruises, Schettino ignored the company’s approved sail-by salute course for Giglio and decided to navigate by sight.

A Disaster in the Making

A captain should never divert from the charted course just to impress an island with a sail-by. But Schettino wasn’t the type to stick to the rules. So, hours into the voyage, at around 9:45 p.m., the Costa Concordia struck an underwater rock that tore a 160-foot gash in its hull, causing water to flood in. The ship, carrying over 4,200 passengers and crew, began to list as the power failed.

A captain truly shouldn’t deny his passenger help. But while chaos erupted on board, Captain Schettino downplayed the severity of the situation to the Italian Coast Guard, telling them everything was under control for 45 minutes. This delay in calling for help wasted precious time and ultimately cost lives.

By the time Schettino gave the order to abandon ship—more than an hour after the collision—the vessel was already leaning heavily to one side. Lifeboats were inaccessible, and many passengers found themselves trapped. Critics would later accuse Schettino of delaying the evacuation in an attempt to cover up his mistake.

Abandoning Ship

A captain should never abandon ship while passengers are still onboard. But Schettino wasn’t any old captain. In an act that would forever define his legacy, he left the bridge at around 23:19, abandoning the ship while passengers were still scrambling to evacuate. He claimed he “fell” into the lifeboat as the ship tilted—a story that was widely ridiculed.

A captain should always listen when the coast guard orders him to return to his sinking ship. But Schettino seemed to think those orders didn’t apply to him. By the time Coast Guard official Gregorio de Falco was demanding that Schettino oversee the rescue, the captain had already taken one of the first available lifeboats to shore, leaving his crew and passengers behind. The now-famous phone exchange between the two went viral, with De Falco furiously ordering Schettino to “Get back on board!” and cursing a blue streak. But Schettino refused, claiming it was too dark and dangerous to return. Even when offered another boat to get back to the Concordia, Schettino declined.

The Reckoning

When the dust settled, Francesco Schettino stood trial for his role in the disaster. After a 19-month trial, the court found him guilty of multiple counts of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck, and abandoning his passengers. His final sentence totaled 16 years, broken down as follows:

• 10 years for manslaughter
• 5 years for causing the wreck
• 1 year for abandoning ship.

This last year of his sentence, imposed under maritime law against abandoning passengers, was a bitter pill for Schettino. Had he stayed aboard like he was supposed to–even after causing the wreck– he would have avoided this additional time behind bars.

While Schettino was the face of the disaster, the court noted that the situation was more complex than one man’s negligence. Some argue he was made a scapegoat for a broader systemic failure. Technical failings, poor communication, and inadequate evacuation procedures all contributed to the tragedy. Costa Cruises, the company that owned the Concordia, agreed to pay a €1 million fine but faced no criminal charges. Five other Costa employees–stationed both on and off the ship–pleaded guilty to various charges.

The Fate of “Captain Coward”

Schettino’s actions that night turned him into a global symbol of cowardice. The Italian press dubbed him “Captain Coward,” “Captain Calamity,” and even “Italy’s most hated man.” He was vilified as the man who left his passengers to die while saving himself.

While Schettino’s reckless decisions and dangerous bravado set the tragedy in motion, it was this final act of leaving them behind that added an entire extra year to his sentence. By the time he’s released in his 70s, Schettino will have had an entire year to think about how different things might have been—if only, for once, he’d done what he was supposed to.

See CBS’ in-depth coverage of the disaster and aftermath in the video below: