Next week, Italians will finally say goodbye to the wrecked
Costa Concordia cruise ship that has been sitting off the coast of
Giglio Island for two and a half years. If all goes according to plan, the ship
will be towed to a port in Genoa, where it will be cut up for scrap over
several years. But first, engineers need to make Costa Concordia float again.
The Costa Concordia is currently sitting upright on a man-made platform just off Giglio Island.
The raising of the wreckage has been a long time coming. Last September, engineers flipped the capsized, mostly submerged ship upright in an operation that cost insurance companies hundreds of millions of dollars. Today, the ship sits on an enormous underwater platform built just for the occasion. It’s still partly underwater and is in no way seaworthy.
The ship is filled with environmental hazards including rotten food, personal effects of guests, and everything from silverware to mattresses that has been entombed inside for more than two years.
To remedy that, the wreck removal team has installed 30 airtight metal tanks, called sponsons, on either side of the ship. Right now, the sponsons are filled with water. If the weather’s good, starting Monday, they will be gradually pumped full of compressed air. That will create enough buoyancy to lift the water-filled, 115,000 ton ship up off the platform.
To start, the engineers will lift the ship two meters, and check it for structural damage. If it’s too badly damaged to move, the ship may have to be dismantled in place. That would be unfortunate, since it’s currently sitting in a marine sanctuary. It’s also filled with environmental hazards like rotten food and everything from silverware to mattresses that’s been entombed inside for more than two years.
Lines will be attached to the Costa Concordia and it will be carefully raised by two meters, and checked for structural damage. Depending on what they find, the ship may have to be dismantled in place.
If the structure checks out, the ship will be moved approximately 30 meters away from shore before the full refloating.
Engineers will raise the ship gradually, checking each deck being for toxic substances that could be leaking into the Mediterranean. At the end of the multi-day operation, the ship should have a draft of 18.5 meters and will be towed 150 miles to Genoa, at just 2 knots (2.3 miles per hour), over five days.
The process sounds neat and tidy, but it hasn’t gone down without controversy. In October, Costa Crociere, which operated the Costa Concordia, selected the Dockwise Vanguard, a Dutch ship designed to carry enormous cargo, to remove the wreck. Then Enrico Rossi, president of Tuscany, vowed to physically block the Vanguard from approaching the area. That way he could be be sure the wreck, and the $275 million demolition contract that comes with it, doesn’t leave the country. He got his way.
More recently, Greenpeace has announced it plans to send its Rainbow Warrior ship to block the removal of the Costa Concordia. Greenpeace Italy spokesperson Luca Lacoboni believes that toxic fluids like oil and diesel could leak into the environment and that nearer Italian ports could be reached “easily and with less risks”.
The Costa Concordia is currently sitting upright on a man-made platform just off Giglio Island.
The raising of the wreckage has been a long time coming. Last September, engineers flipped the capsized, mostly submerged ship upright in an operation that cost insurance companies hundreds of millions of dollars. Today, the ship sits on an enormous underwater platform built just for the occasion. It’s still partly underwater and is in no way seaworthy.
The ship is filled with environmental hazards including rotten food, personal effects of guests, and everything from silverware to mattresses that has been entombed inside for more than two years.
To remedy that, the wreck removal team has installed 30 airtight metal tanks, called sponsons, on either side of the ship. Right now, the sponsons are filled with water. If the weather’s good, starting Monday, they will be gradually pumped full of compressed air. That will create enough buoyancy to lift the water-filled, 115,000 ton ship up off the platform.
To start, the engineers will lift the ship two meters, and check it for structural damage. If it’s too badly damaged to move, the ship may have to be dismantled in place. That would be unfortunate, since it’s currently sitting in a marine sanctuary. It’s also filled with environmental hazards like rotten food and everything from silverware to mattresses that’s been entombed inside for more than two years.
Lines will be attached to the Costa Concordia and it will be carefully raised by two meters, and checked for structural damage. Depending on what they find, the ship may have to be dismantled in place.
If the structure checks out, the ship will be moved approximately 30 meters away from shore before the full refloating.
Engineers will raise the ship gradually, checking each deck being for toxic substances that could be leaking into the Mediterranean. At the end of the multi-day operation, the ship should have a draft of 18.5 meters and will be towed 150 miles to Genoa, at just 2 knots (2.3 miles per hour), over five days.
The process sounds neat and tidy, but it hasn’t gone down without controversy. In October, Costa Crociere, which operated the Costa Concordia, selected the Dockwise Vanguard, a Dutch ship designed to carry enormous cargo, to remove the wreck. Then Enrico Rossi, president of Tuscany, vowed to physically block the Vanguard from approaching the area. That way he could be be sure the wreck, and the $275 million demolition contract that comes with it, doesn’t leave the country. He got his way.
More recently, Greenpeace has announced it plans to send its Rainbow Warrior ship to block the removal of the Costa Concordia. Greenpeace Italy spokesperson Luca Lacoboni believes that toxic fluids like oil and diesel could leak into the environment and that nearer Italian ports could be reached “easily and with less risks”.
Finally, after several days of careful
work, the ship will hopefully be towed to Genoa with minimal environmental
impact.
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