Presented in Rome: The Plan for the Removal of the Wreck of
the "Costa Concordia"
05/22/2012 10:07 am
Costa Cruises and Titan-Micoperi Reveal that the Wreck will
be Floated and be Towed
(Genoa, Italy; May 18, 2012) - Today 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."
Costa Cruises is one of Europe's cruise companies
(www.costacruise.com). For more than 60 years its ships
have sailed the seas of the world, offeringItalian style,
hospitality and cuisine, and providing dream holidays with
the utmost in terms of fun and relaxation. Its fleet has a
total of 14 ships in service and 2 new ships on order to be
delivered at the beginning of May 2012 and in October 2014.
Costa Cruises has been certified by RINA (Italian Shipping
Register) with the BEST4, an integrated system of voluntary
certification of corporate compliance with the highest
standards governing social accountability (SA 8000, issued
in 2008, thanks to the first voluntary pilot program in the
maritime industry), environment (UNI EN ISO 14001, 2004),
safety (OHSAS 18001, 2007) and quality (UNI EN ISO 9001,
2008) (www.costacruise.com/Best4). All the ships in the
Costa fleet have been assigned RINA's Green Starnotation
certifying that they are operated in compliance with the
highest environmental protection standards. With revenues
of 3.1 billion euros and 2.3 million total Guests in 2011,
Costa Crociere S.p.A. is the largest Italian travel group
and comprises the brands Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises and
Iberocruceros. Costa Crociere S.p.A. is a member of
Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the
world's largest cruise operator.
The Italian tourism group is comprised of the brands Costa
Crociere, AIDA Cruises and Iberocruceros. Costa Crociere
S.p.A. is part of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE / LSE:
CCL and NYSE:CUK), a leading global cruise provider.
# # #
Costa Crociere press contacts:
Gabriele Baroni
Office: +39 (0)2 72143590
Mobile: +39 349 7669013
Email: Gabriele.baroni@bm.com
Alessandra Boscolo
Office: +30 (0)2 72143504
Mobile: +39 346 6287691
Email: alessandra.boscolo.ce@bm.com
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