The Emergency Deputy
Commissioner for the sinking of the Costa Concordia, Franco Gabrielli, Costa
Cruises, and the TITAN Salvage / Micoperi consortium – the team recently
contracted for the salvage work – presented the approved plans for removing the
wrecked ship Costa Concordia. The salvage work will begin in a few days and is
estimated to take about 12 months.
TITAN Salvage, a U.S.
company owned by Crowley Maritime Group, is a world leader in the recovery of
wrecks. Micoperi is an Italian company specializing in underwater construction
and engineering, and has many years of experience in the field.
The plan, which will
re-float the vessel’s hull, places the highest priority for ensuring the lowest
possible environmental impact as well as the conservation of tourist and
economic activities on the island of Giglio, with maximum safety precautions.
Environmental protection
will be the top priority throughout operations of this mammoth recovery. The
plan also includes measures to safeguard the economic and tourist activities on
the island of Giglio. Staff will work to remove asbestos. The work is not
expected to have any significant effects on the summer tourist season. To
further reduce any impact on the activities of the Marina del Giglio, the base
for the salvage operations will be off the island, near Piombino, where
equipment and materials will be collected for the work.
There are four stages of
operation in the salvage plan, as follows:
- First, once the ship has
been stabilized, an underwater platform will be built and watertight boxes, or
caissons, fixed to the side of the ship that is above water.
- Two cranes fixed to the
platform will pull the ship upright, helped by the weight of the caissons,
which will be filled with water.
- When the ship is upright,
caissons will be fixed to the other side of the hull to stabilize it.
- Finally, the caissons on
both sides will be emptied, after the water inside has been purified to protect
the marine environment, and filled with air.
Once floating, the wreck
will be towed to an Italian port. Once the removal is complete, the salvage
team will clean the waters and the restore the marine flora.
The plan was evaluated from
a technical standpoint by a committee, composed of experts representing Costa
Cruises, Carnival Corporation & plc, London Offshore Consultants and
Standard P & I Club, in collaboration with RINA and Fincantieri, in
accordance with the requirements and recommendations set by the Italian
authorities. The plan was evaluated to ensure that it would meet the main
requirements: removal of the entire wreck with maximum safety precautions and
as little impact to the environment, tourism and economy of Giglio.
“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.p.A. 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.”
“We are very pleased to have
been chosen to perform this incredible operation to remove the wreck of Costa
Concordia,” said Richard Habib, vice president of Titan Salvage. “Our quality
engineering and the experience we have gained in this area allowed us to
present a project that met expectations. From now on we will work with the aim
of preserving the environment and the natural habitat.”
“We were confident from the
outset that the professionalism of our company and our proven experience in
underwater rescue and recovery operations could be of service to this salvage
operation,” said Silvio Bartolotti, general manager of Micoperi. “Being chosen
is also powerful demonstration of the quality and capabilities of Italian
companies to manage such delicate and unprecedented projects.”
Source : SN-TR, 24.05.12.
Batam: Constructions of a
new deepwater container port on Tanjung Sauh, between Batam and Bintan could
begin as early as next year, reports said.
