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Posted on: May 28, 2012 email the editors email a friend small medium large View Comments Home Topics Cruise By Donna TunneyMarine salvage experts last week began work to refloat and remove the wrecked Costa Concordia.The two salvage companies hired by the ship's owner, Costa Crociere, have a four-point plan to haul the ship from the rocky reef off Italy's Giglio Island, where it grounded and capsized Jan. 13, Costa said at a press conference in Rome May 18. (View a slideshow with details of the plan here.)
In April, Titan Salvage and Micoperi won the bid to remove the shipwreck after filing a joint plan. Titan is a U.S.-owned marine salvage and wreck-removal company with offices in Pompano Beach, Fla.; East Sussex, England; and Singapore. Micoperi is an Italian marine contractor and specialist in underwater construction and engineering based in Ravenna, Italy.
The removal plan, which will take a year to complete, involves refloating the hull in one piece while protecting Giglio's economy and tourism industry and maximizing safety, Costa Crociere said.
The Concordia plowed into the reef a few hours after departing Civitavecchia (Rome's port) with 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew onboard. Thirty-two people died in the accident, and the ship has remained half-submerged just outside Giglio's harbor.
The Concordia's fuel tanks, carrying 500,000 gallons of fuel, were emptied earlier this spring.
The salvage companies plan first to build a subsea platform, and caissons will be fixed to the side of the ship that is above water. A caisson is a retaining, watertight structure.
Two cranes fixed to the platform will pull the ship upright, helped by the caissons, which will be filled with water.
When the ship is upright, caissons will also be fixed to the other side of the hull.
The caissons on both sides will then be emptied of water and filled with air.
Once floated, the wreck will be towed to an Italian port and dealt with in accordance with the requirements of Italian authorities, said Costa.
The plan includes measures to safeguard Giglio's tourism industry and wider economy, Costa said.
"Salvage workers' presence will not have a significant impact on the availability of hotel accommodations for the island's summer season," Costa said in a statement. "The operating base will be located on the mainland near Piombino, where equipment and materials will be stored, avoiding impact on the island's port activities."
The statement continued: "Environmental protection will have top priority throughout the monumental salvage operation, the likes of which has not been attempted before anywhere in the world. Once removal is complete, the sea bottom will be cleaned and marine flora replanted."
Giglio is one of seven islands that make up the Tuscan Archipelago National Park, a protected area.
"From the early stages of the accident, Costa Crociere has fully committed its resources, professional expertise and organization to minimizing the impact of the shipwreck on the environment and on Isola del Giglio in particular," said Gianni Onorato, Costa Crociere's president. "As was the case with the fuel-removal operation, we have always worked to find the best possible and safest solution to protect the island, its marine environment and its tourism industry.
"We are now launching a salvage operation with characteristics and technical complexities that have never been faced before. There will inevitably be some unknowns in a project of this scope, but we are sure we have made the right decision and will continue to work to our best ability and on schedule."
Representatives from Costa Crociere, its parent company Carnival Corp., and Fincantieri, which built the ship, formed the evaluation team that selected the plan. This page is protected by Copyright laws. Do Not Copy. Purchase Reprint email the editors email a friend small medium large Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. blog comments powered by Disqus
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