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Costa Concordia: Cruise Ship To Be Refloated As Part Of Pioneering Salvage Operation

Huffington Post UK  |  By Posted: 2/04/2012 12:49 Updated: 2/04/2012 17:29

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Costa Concordia
The Costa Concordia has been lying off the Tuscan coast for months

The stricken Costa Concordia could take to the seas again one last time, with rescue crews planning to refloat the cruise liner as part of a pioneering salvage operation.

The £180 million effort involves sealing up holes in the ship's compartments, including the gigantic 50-metre rip across the hull, torn open when the cruise ship ran aground off the island of Gigilo on 12 January.

The ship's compartments will then be pumped full of air, and righted by cranes before the ship is towed to Genoa. The cruise liner is currently poised at an 80 degree angle at a part of the island's coast line known as Seagull point.

Although dismantling the ship piece by piece would be far cheaper, the trailblazing salvage operation has been proposed to save the surrounding waters from pollution.

The island of Giglio on the Tuscan coast is a maritime reserve, home to dolphins, whales and porpoises. Thousands of tourists visit the destination every year during the summer holidays, and local authorities are keen to preserve its reputation as an environmental haven.

It is four months since the ship struck a rock off the Tuscan coast, killing 32 people with two bodies still missing. A spokesman for Giglio council told Sky News that removing the ship intact had always been the solution they wanted, not only because of the minimal environmental impact but also because it "respects the memory of those who died - to have the ship cut up into pieces with two people still missing would have not seemed correct."

Costa Concordia captain, Francesco Schettino, is currently under house arrest while an investigation is conducted into what happened on the night the ship ran aground.

The disgraced captain faces charges of manslaughter, as well as causing a shipwreck and failing to inform maritime authorities of the situation.

It is thought that if he had alerted harbour masters sooner, the ship's lifeboats would have been able to be deployed more successfully. Many of them weren't able to be used safely as the boat had already tilted too far towards the water.


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View of the Costa Concordia taken on January 14, 2012, after the cruise ship ran aground and keeled over off the Isola del Giglio, last night. Three people died and about 70 were missing Saturday after an Italian cruise ship with more than 4,000 people on board ran aground and keeled over, sparking scenes of panic. AFP PHOTO/FILIPPO MONTEFORTE
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The stricken Costa Concordia could take to the seas again one last time, with rescue crews planning to refloat the cruise liner as part of a pioneering salvage operation. The £180 million effort i...
The stricken Costa Concordia could take to the seas again one last time, with rescue crews planning to refloat the cruise liner as part of a pioneering salvage operation. The £180 million effort i...
 
 
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
rg9rts
Carpe Diem! This aint rehearsal
744 Fans
10:19 on 15/10/2012
After refloating let Schettino Captain it again. He can also help in the recovery effort.
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freedomthinker69
49 Fans
21:22 on 17/04/2012
Its like the Titanic. Without the bad actors
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William Lang
1 Fans
17:32 on 04/04/2012
"The cruise liner is currently poised at an 80 degree angle..."

It's actually 68 degrees.
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Kevan Parker
8 Fans
17:28 on 04/04/2012
The MS Herald of Free Enterprise was re- floated and sailed off to a faraway scrap yard?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Erik 67
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
57 Fans
16:37 on 04/04/2012
They should remove the engines, moor it somewhere in the middle of the ocean and convert it into a floating prison barge. Make the inmates catch their own food to survive.
Francesco Schettino could be the first inmate.
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alamcculloch
3 Fans
12:48 on 04/04/2012
The wreck is way beyond economical repair.The anchors could be reused ,but everything else is scrap.
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Up the wall
0 Fans
07:50 on 04/04/2012
The article says "to take to the seas one last time" so I presume the plan is to break it up afterwards. Can anyone confirm this???
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carryfiasco
2 Fans
13:15 on 03/04/2012
have to admit, i'm quite interested to see how this "salvation" attempt works. morbid as it might be, i'm hoping they make some sort of documentary out of it, or at least get some good footage of how they go about it. maybe that just the engineer in me, getting the better of my judgement.
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delboy246
24 Fans
07:08 on 03/04/2012
I can`t see many people queueing to book a holiday on this baby again. The ships systems have proved useless and i would think the costs to change these and refloat it would out way the benefits.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
mokgee
Sabu.Satsang, Samsara, Solitude...
139 Fans
20:14 on 02/04/2012
Whilst no doubt the Captain, who charted it's destruction is enjoying the high life somewhere...
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nitrox11
9 Fans
02:29 on 03/04/2012
Er, no, I he's under house arrest which is clearly stated in the article.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
mokgee
Sabu.Satsang, Samsara, Solitude...
139 Fans
07:23 on 03/04/2012
They publish an article to pacify people, that is the cynic I have become with all authority. My tendency is not believe anything they say, because they all lie and cover up, here there and everywhere. One reoprt saw him wining and dining, now which do we believe, by who's account.....
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Erik 67
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
57 Fans
16:53 on 04/04/2012
How big is his house?
Bigger than the jail cell he deserves I'll bet.
Does he get his wine and cheese delivered
by his friends and family that can visit him whenever
he wants?
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Thinker1950
2 Fans
13:15 on 04/04/2012
One must assume you're too thick to understand one of the biggest global stories of the last few months and the fact that the captain has been under arrest from the start?
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
mokgee
Sabu.Satsang, Samsara, Solitude...
139 Fans
16:03 on 04/04/2012
Get your self another paper boy, this is old news, or have you only just woke up...
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Dr Turbine
2 Fans
18:21 on 02/04/2012
About time. Have they been waiting for divine intervention?
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Reality always bites
Sometimes just a bit peckish
239 Fans
18:25 on 02/04/2012
No they have been trying to recover the dead! What is your rush?
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esso man
67 Fans
19:14 on 02/04/2012
someone else that has no idea just how complext the salvaging of this ship is,plus have no idea just HOW BIG it is as well,it is huge,! people do not realise just how big untill you are actualy on it,plus as you say the body recovery has been at the forefront,but so has the safety aspect for not only the divers but all the salvage team,theres more to salvaging than the majority of people realise,just ensuring that oil / fuel seepage is kept to an absolute minimum is a nightmare,
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KenInd
We too shall get through this.....
1381 Fans
15:55 on 02/04/2012
Ah, great news!!!

A new ship for the line that buys all of Costas, wrecks, Thomson.

Like the Thomson 'Dream', marketed as Thomson's 'new ship' when in fact it was build 25 years before, sold, stretched, sold to Costna, and badly damaged in a collision in Sharm el Sheik before Costa sold? leased? her to Thomson, who billed it as their 'new ship'. That, and endless teething problems, led to a fleet of complaints from disgruntled Thomson fans who thought they were going to have a wonderful experience. The problems have been sorted and Thomson 'new' ship is delighting British cruisers who appear to be less picky about such matters as sailing in 'new' ships that are 27 years old.

Hence, on the way, a 'new' ship: Thomson 'Concordia'. "Take a different slant on cruising' might become its catch phrase.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Erik 67
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
57 Fans
16:40 on 04/04/2012
The Exxon Valdez got a patch, a new name and is back in service.
Way cheaper than building a new one.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Jack Kitchens
Tell me something good
470 Fans
17:34 on 04/04/2012
Valdez was renamed and now is being scrapped.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Pietro Sommavilla
60 Fans
 
15:46 on 02/04/2012
"It is thought that if he had alerted harbour masters sooner, the ship's lifeboats would have been able to be deployed more successfully.."

I would also add that although they hit the rocks, the crew never considered sending a May Day signal, and wasted wasted precious (1 hr) in giving the order to evacuate the ship.

The captain of the cruise was taking order on the mobile phone, (from who?) so I guess the real culprits will nevver pay for this.
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