When the Costa Concordia cruise ship struck the Scole reef on January 13, 2012, it was dangerously close to the shore of Isola del Giglio. Official investigations and AIS (Automatic Identification System) tracking data revealed that the ship was approximately 300 to 500 meters (roughly 1,000 to 1,600 feet) offshore at the time of the initial impact. This was part of a "sail-by salute" maneuver—a non-standard, unofficial practice where the captain brings the ship close to land to signal to those on shore. After hitting the rocks and losing power, the vessel drifted and was eventually grounded even closer to the coast, coming to rest on a rocky ledge just 50 to 100 meters from the shoreline near the Giglio Porto harbor entrance. The proximity to shore was both the cause of the disaster (due to submerged rocks not cleared at that distance) and a factor that allowed many passengers to survive by swimming or being rescued by small local boats, though the capsizing ultimately resulted in 32 tragic deaths.