Francesco Schettino Has Been Called the "Chicken of the Seas" Following Costa Concordia Disaster

Francesco Schettino, the captain of the Costa Concordia during its infamous 2012 disaster, has gone down in history as the "Chicken of the Seas." When the cruise ship struck rocks near Giglio Island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, 32 people were killed in the subsequent evacuation of the ship, despite the initial impact taking no lives.

Following the incident, accusations were thrown out between the captain and his shipmates, though Schettino faced severe charges for the incident. What happened to him? Here's what we know about the disgraced seaman.

Following the incident, an investigation was done into what happened aboard the ship that resulted in the loss of 32 lives. For starters, Schettino had admitted to "showboating" when the crash happened, sailing the cruise ship too close to the island, per CNN. He also placed blame on an Inonesian helmsman who wasn't fluent in English or Italian for being unable to understand his orders, as well as the ship's faulty generators for preventing some passengers' escape.

The captain also evacuated the ship before all passengers had been transported safely off the cruise ship, claiming the tilt of the boat caused him to fall into a lifeboat. Once on shore, he claims to have conducted a rescue mission from there to get the rest of the passengers safely off the ship. That said, transcripts from the incident reveal that another crew member told him to "get back on board for f--k's sake" when he admitted to abandoning the vessel.

Despite multiple appeals from Schettino and his lawyers, he was ultimately found guilty of manslaughter for his role in the disaster. Following the initial conviction, his lawyers filed multiple appeals, buying him two more years before it was ultimately decided by the Italian courts that he was guilty.

The trial took 19 months in total, and ultimately he was sentenced to 16 years in prison and five years of interdiction from navigating. This means that he won't be able to man a ship for five years after his release from prison.

In statements and interviews since the disaster, Schettino has publicly wept about the lives lost, admitting a degree of guilt and responsibility for those who weren't able to be saved.

“I died along with the 32 others,” he said of the day during his court proceedings, claiming that he has since become a victim of the “media meat grinder.”

His sentencing was finalized in 2015, and ultimately turned himself in to the Rebibbia prison in Rome following the verdict. Five of his other colleagues also faced prison for their own hands in the chaos that unfolded that night, each of them being sentenced for up to three years a piece.

Costa Crociere, the company that owned the cruise ship that sank, was given a $1.1 million fine to bypass potential criminal charges, per BBC.

At the time of writing, Schettino is currently still serving his 16-year sentence.