Used to be, in any news story involving a ship, they’d give length and displacement as amatter of course. It’d be nice to know what size ship we’re talking about here.
It was launched in 2006.
Daily Mail UK reports islanders saying cruise ships often “buzzed” the island, blowing their horns & flashing lights to entertain island tourists. Island officials are appreciative of these “fly-bys”. But islanders said they had never seen a cruise ship so close before. Giglio was not a port of call for the ship.
These ships have computerized radar, & GPS navigation systems. Given a course, these ships will sail themselves. There are extensive warning systems linked to radar & GPS that will alert the crew to impending disaster LONG before it could happen, giving plenty of time to correct course.
Even recreational fishing boats have these systems, though steerage is usually manual, as directed by the nav system. They will warn you of shallow water, reefs, rocks, ... anything that is a known obstruction.
I'll bet every alarm on the bridge was blaring loud & long before the grounding. I'll bet the helmsman & the navigator were protesting loudly. I’ll also bet the captain had a few champagnes & disregarded numerous serious warnings.
The only other possible explanation is that they lost all navigation systems & steerage prior to making the critical turn to the north.