# Costa Concordia to be Scrapped in Genoa



## Geoff Gower (Sep 8, 2011)

The wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise liner that capsised off the Tuscany coast in 2012, killing 32 people, will be demolished and scrapped in the port of Genoa, the Italian government decided on Monday.The decision for the work to be done in Genoa, in northern Italy, followed a choice last month by Costa Cruises for a consortium including oil services company Saipem and Genoa-based companies Mariotti and San Giorgio.A number of other ports in Italy and abroad had expressed interest in the contract.The luxury liner hit rocks and sank more than two years ago as it sailed close to the island of Giglio.
Since then, it has been hauled upright but still rests where it capsized off the coast. It is expected to be towed to Genoa in the next few months.


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## Geoff Gower (Sep 8, 2011)

*Costa Concordia cruise ship last journey set for July 20*

Salvage workers are getting the Costa Concordia ready for its final voyage. Thirty tanks filled with air will lift the shipwreck off the seabed next month so it can be towed away and dismantled. Italian officials have announced that the Costa Concordia will be scrapped at a salvage yard at the port in Genoa, Italy. The port in Genoa is Europe's most modern port and is also the headquarters for Costa Cruises. Officials are hoping to start towing the infamous cruise ship on July 20, 2014 to Genoa where the ship will be dismantled and recycled. Workers are currently on the 4th stage of the removal process. The cleanup and removal of the ship is expected to cost Carnival Corporation over $1 billion US dollars. The parbuckling alone cost $600 million according to chief financial officer of Carnival, Beniamino Maltese. The Costa Concordia is the largest vessel ever to be parbuckled. Parbuckling is the righting of a sunken vessel using rotational leverage.
There are five stages of the removal process: -
Holdback system and stablization –
Underwater support and portside sponsons –
The parbucking –
Refloating sponsons –
Refloating
Salvage master Nicholas Sloane admits there are some last minute nerves about re-floating the ship. Many people who live on Giglio are also concerned because the operation is scheduled at the peak of the tourist season. "There are anxious moments and I think when we get towards the refloat it will be the same feeling as the parbuckle but we have more control of her now so once we have the sponsons around her belly and where the damage is then i think, if we take it nice and easy and we have good weather, we should be okay. But we'll still be anxious of course," said Titan Salvage Senior Salvage Master, Nicholas Sloane. Francesco Schettino, the captain of the Costa cruise ship, has been charged with manslaughter and abandoning his ship. He was performing a move called a "salute," sailing just 300 meters off the shore when the ship hit the reef, tearing a hole in the hull of the vessel. Schettino faces up to 20 years in prison if he is found guilty


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