Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Costa Concordia the Final Journey

Costa Concordia
Giglio to Genoa


Approvals have been given for the salvage team, directed by Titan Micoperi, to commence one of the final stages in the salvage of the Costa Concordia.


Refloating To Begin

Refloating stages

The refloating operation will be divided into 4 separate stages. The refloat will be complete when the greatest possible amount of water has been pumped out of the sponsons and the ship is virtually parallel to sea level.

  • Stage 1: Partial refloating and eastward movement of the wreck 
  • Stage 2: Attachment and tensioning of the chains and cables and final positioning ofthe starboard sponsons
  • Stage 3: Actual refloating - At this stage the actual refloating will commence
  • Stage 4: Final maneuvers and departure of the ship from the island
Salvage experts will conduct the refloating operations from the Remote Operations Center (ROC) located on the Concordia. The monitoring systems will be handling the ballast in the sponsons and guaranteeing vessel stability, trim and the even distribution of the forces acting on the hull.



UPDATE: 
22 JULY 2014

Today, Costa Concordia departs from Giglio on its final voyage.

A convoy of several tugs and support vessels has begun the slow journey from Giglio to the final port call for Costa Concordia in Genoa, Italy  where it will be dismantled and sold for scrap. We have followed this story since that fateful Friday the 13th in 2012.  This final journey, will take about 4 days as the convoy proceeds at about 2 knots, roughly the speed of walking.  

Here are some images and stories which we have found on the web.   Most interesting may be how Giglio gets back to "normal" whatever that means.   It was a small town that was not very well known until it became center stage with a global audience watching.   

CNN:  How do islanders feel about the Costa Concordia departing? The answer may surprise you:








  


This video shows the refloating phases of Costa Concordia salvage operations
(limited hours of operation)


Once it is afloat, the wreck will be ready for transportation to its final destination, namely the
Port of Genoa Voltri.  Two possible courses have been selected with the actual course determined by conditions at the time of towing commencement.  The course pictured above, courtesy of Titan Micoperi, would cover 208 nautical miles.  The second course would be slightly shorter.

Costa Concordia Live Web Cam Links: 
 http://costaconcordiawebcams.com/




Re-floating Concordia    Courtesy: Parbuckling Project


UPDATE 03 July 2014:

Costa Crociere: installation of all sponsons completed, ten days to possible refloating

Genoa, Italy has been selected to receive the vessel for salvage

Following installation of the last sponson, we can start the countdown to refloating and final departure of the wreck from Giglio Island,” said Costa Crociere CEO Michael Thamm.Now all our energies are focused on the successful conclusion of this unprecedented engineering challenge to respect a precise commitment: remove the Concordia wreck as soon as possible, in compliance with the highest environmental and safety standards.”

Watch footage from Italian police divers in the sunken ship just before it is scheduled to be towed:  Inside Costa Concordia Now & Before

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