THE COSTA CONCORDIA: 2006 IMO 9320544

IDNo: 9320544 – Year: 2006 – Name: COSTA CONCORDIA – Keel: 8.11.04 – Type: Passenger ship – Launch Date: 2.9.05 – Flag: ITA – Date of completion: 30.6.06 – GRT: 114147 – DWT: 10000 – Yard No: 6122 – Length overall: 290.2 – LPP: 247.7 – Country of build: ITA – Beam: 35.5 – Builder: Sestri CN of Genoa-Sestri.

Machinery Overview: 6 diesel electric oil engines drivingeach a.c. connected to 2 electric motors driving 2 FP propellers – Total Power: Mcr 75,600kW (102,786hp) – Max. Speed: 23.00kts, Service Speed: 21.50kts.

On 13 January 2012, she was wrecked off the coast of Isola del Giglio in Italy. She has been declared a total loss and is currently being salvaged, following which she will be scrapped. The name Concordia was intended to express the wish for "continuing harmony, unity, and peace between European Nations.

Courtesy: Wikepedia

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The view Monday from shore as work began to pull the Costa Concordia upright. The box-like structure on the ship's port side is one of the refloating caissons that will stabilize the ship.

The Costa Concordia is lying on its side in shallow waters off the west coast of Italy. It struck a reef 20 months ago when the captain steered too close to land. Thirty-two people died. On Monday, the task is to begin to slowly rotate the ship to an upright position, using a complex system of chains and underwater platforms and cables.

Here's The Ingenious $400 Million

Plan

To Deal With The Wrecked Costa

Concordia

The ship weighs 60,000 tons and is filled with

seawater.

The operation to salvage the wreckage of the Costa Concordia is going well, according to salvage manager Sergio Girotto. In January 2012 the tourist cruise ship ran aground off Isola del Giglio on the Tuscan coast, leaving 32 people dead. Engineers have begun work on Monday after a three-hour delay caused by an overnight storm

At the time of making these posts, we are being told that within the next few hours, engineers will have the Costa Concordia upright.

It is a magnificent feat.

Titan and Micoperi workers look at the stricken Costa Concordia as the parbuckling project to pull the ship up is prepared on Monday

Engineers at work on the Costa Concordia ahead of the start of the salvage operation on Monday.

The wreck of Italy's Costa Concordia cruise ship begins to emerge from water near the harbour of Giglio Porto

COSTA CONCORDIA

IMO 9320544

Jan.14 - 2012 Costa Concordia leans after it ran aground off the coast of Isola del Giglio island, Italy in the evening of jan.13, gashing open the hull over about 60 m. Aboard were 4229 passengers and crew.  Evacuate aboard lifeboats and helicopters to the nearby Isola del Giglio island, early Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012. About approx. 1,000 Italian passengers were onboard, as well as more than 500 Germans, about 160 French and several other nationalities. Some leapt overboard and swam to shore as the  ship started to sink into the cold waters near the island of Giglio, off the Tuscan coast.Passengers' dinner was interrupted by a loud boom at around 8pm and a voice over the tannoy initially claimed that the ship was suffering an electrical failure, (however until now this is not confirmed ) before ordering everyone on-board to don life-jackets.Since in the crack was found a huge boulder is certain that the ship has gone on a rock. Probably a human error caused the accident.

Pregnant women and young children were among the passengers.
To date there is no true insight about the number of dead, wounded and missing people. Unofficially, there are three deaths and between 20 and 70 missing. The entire rescue operation was chaotic.
The bunkers are full of oil. The highest priority is to remove without environmentally damage. Only then can be decided what should happen with the wreck.

* Updates:
 jan.16 - Until now Six people died and still 16 are missing, most with German nationality. Costa Crociere said Costa Concordia’s captain may have erred by sailing too close to shore and ‘in handling the emergency appears not to have followed standard Costa procedures. Costa has engaged Smit-Salvage a top Dutch specialized salvage company to remove 2300 tons of heavy fuel oil. To develop an action plan to  establish a protection perimeter around the Costa Concordia to prevent eventually environmental damage.
Costa said in a statement: "The captain stayed aboard the ship for a long time after the accident and  moving the ship close to shore before grounding it. He may have saved many lives".

Jan.18 Eleven people are confirmed dead, while 24 are still missing.Rescuers are planning to bore three more holes in the hull to search for missing passengers. However the search for survivors on the Costa Concordia cruise ship has been deferred for the second time after sensors revealed the grounded vessel had shifted a few centimeters. For that reason the salvage comp.have the discharge of oil interupted.

Jan.19 Following the tragic Costa Concordia accident, Carnival Corporation & plc, parent company of Costa Cruises and nine leading cruise lines around the world, today announced a comprehensive audit and review of all safety and emergency response procedures across all of the company’s cruise lines. Carnival Corporation & plc and the cruise industry as a whole have maintained an excellent safety record over the years.“However, this tragedy has called into question our company’s safety and emergency response procedures and practices,” said Micky Arison, chairman and CEO of Carnival Corporation & plc.
In releated news, analysis of Lloyd's List Intelligence vessel tracking data shows that Costa Concordia sailed within 230 m of the coast of Giglio Island on a previous voyage, even closer to shore than where it hit rocks last Friday. Lloyd's List has uncovered new evidence which indicates that last Friday's Costa Concordia disaster may not be a black and white case of shipmaster error.

Jan. 24 Italian authorities confirmed 15 people dead and still 17 missing. The names of 9 dead people  are released. Costa Crociere on Monday denied there were ‘clandestine’ people on board the ship.Research hasshown that the master does not has used drugs. Italian public prosecutor launched an investigation into the role of Costa Management. Such as selection procedures of captains, staff training, safety instructions, and why a number of lifeboats did not work.Thursday starts Smit Salvage with pumping oil out of the ship. Currently small amount of oil leaking from the ship.

Jan. 28 Divers found on Saturday the body of a woman, bringing the confirmed death to 17. Still 15 people are missing. Plans to begin pumping fuel out of the ship were suspended due to bad weather. Smit Salvage expect that the operation may be held up for several days until Tuesday due to the weather forecast.
The compensation package for Costa Concordia passengers is based on 11.000 euro including nonpaying children, regardless of their age. Reimbursement of the value of the cruise, any medical expenses resulting from the cruise etc. The families of the deceased and guests who were injured and required medical treatment on site will be covered under a separate proposal that will take into account their individual circumstances. Costa also has pledged not to deduct from this sum any amount paid by any insurance policy stipulated by guests. In addition, the company will return all goods stored in cabin safes, where retrieval is possible.
The Nautical Institute notes with extreme disquiet the alacrity with which the ship’s owners, Costa Cruises, blamed all on the Master, Captain Francesco Schettino, accusing him of unprofessional conduct before any investigations could have taken place. The Nautical Institute is also extremely uneasy with the speculation in much of the world’s media.

Febr. 2 Pier Luigi Foschi, chief executive officer of Costa Crociere, a unit of Carnival Corp. testified that Schettino called Roberto Ferrarini, Costa Crociere's head of marine operations at least six times before the call for evacuation was made. The first call was made at 9:57 pm when Schettino informed Ferrarini that the ship had hit a rock and was taking on water. Foschi's testimony seemed to contradict earlier claims that Costa officials were not notified of the accident until well after it occurred. Rescue workers decided to suspend searches of the underwater part of the capsized Costa Concordia.  According to fire department spokesman Luca Cari "We have definitively stopped the underwater search inside the ship." In the three weeks since the cruise ship struck rocks and capsized near the island of Gigli on the Italian coast, 17 bodies have been recovered, and 15 people are still missing. Officials said the search for bodies will continue when possible on the non-submerged part. Bad weather was also hampering efforts to recover fuel oil from the ship. At good weather conditions the oil removal will take about 4 weeks.
Costa Cruises has called for tenders 10 companies throughout the world to present a working plan to enterely remove the hull of the Costa Concordia.
The invitation has been sent to the world’s leading operators, who have the capabilities to perform the work in the shortest time possible, while ensuring maximum safety and the least possible environmental impact: 1) Smit Salvage BV, 2) Svitzer Salvage BV, 3) Mammoet Salvage BV, 4) Titan Salvage, 5) Resolve Marine Group Inc., 6) T&T Marine Salvage Inc., 7) Donjon Marine Inc., 8) Tito Neri S.r.l., 9) ***ada Salvage & Marine Works Co. Ltd., 10) The Nippon Salvage Co Ltd.
The plans must be presented to Costa Cruises by the beginning of March 2012, for joint assessment with the Civil Protection Scientific Committee, in order to allow the best one to be selected by the end of March 2012. Time needed for complete removal will be about 10 months.

Finally it is over: Engineers have done it

GIGLIO ISLAND, Italy — The crippled Costa Concordia cruise ship was pulled completely upright early Tuesday during a complicated, 19-hour operation to wrench it from its side where it capsized last year off Tuscany, with officials declaring it a "perfect" end to a daring and unprecedented engineering feat.

Shortly after 4 a.m., a foghorn wailed on Giglio Island and the head of Italy's Civil Protection agency, Franco Gabrielli, announced that the ship had reached vertical and that the operation to rotate it – known in nautical terms as parbuckling – was complete.

"We completed the parbuckling operation a few minutes ago the way we thought it would happen and the way we hoped it would happen," said Franco Porcellacchia, project manager for the Concordia's owner, Costa Crociere SpA.

"A perfect operation, I must say," with no environmental spill detected so far, he said.

Applause rang out among firefighters in the tent where the project engineers made the announcement. An hour later, Nick Sloane, the South African chief salvage master, received a hero's welcome as he came ashore from the barge that had served as the floating command control room for the operation.

"Brilliant! Perfetto," Sloane said, using some of the Italian he has learned over the past year on Giglio preparing for Tuesday's operation. "It was a struggle, a bit of a roller coaster. But for the whole team it was fantastic."

The Concordia slammed into a reef off Giglio Island on Jan. 13, 2012, after the captain brought it too close to shore. The cruise ship drifted, listed and capsized just off the island's port, killing 32 people. Two bodies were never recovered.

The operation to right it had been expected to take no more than 12 hours, but dragged on after some initial delays with the vast system of steel cables, pulleys and counterweights. The final phase of the rotation went remarkably fast as gravity began to kick in and pull the ship toward its normal vertical position.

Parbuckling is a standard operation to right capsized ships. But never before had it been used on such a huge cruise liner.

The Concordia is expected to be floated away from Giglio in the spring and turned into scrap.

Sloane said an initial inspection of the starboard side, covered in brown slime from its 20 months underwater while the ship was stuck on a rocky seabed perch, indicated serious damage that must be fixed in the coming weeks and months. The damage he said was caused by both the capsizing and the operation to rotate the ship.

"We have to do a really detailed inspection of the damage," to determine how to shore it up so it can withstand towing.

But he seemed confident: "She was strong enough to come up like this, she's strong enough to be towed."

The starboard side of the ship, which was raised 65 degrees in the operation, must be stabilized to enable crews to attach empty tanks on the side that will later be used to help float the vessel away. It must also be made strong enough to withstand the winter storm season, when high seas and gusts will likely buffet the 115,000-ton, 300-meter (1,000-foot) long liner.

After receiving cheers, embraces and a kiss from his wife on shore, Sloane said he wanted to get some sleep, a beer "and maybe a barbeque tomorrow."

"I think the whole team is proud of what they achieved," he said as he was mobbed by well-wishers and television crews.

Helping the Concordia to weather the winter is an artificial platform on the seabed that was constructed to support the ship's flat keel.

"The ship is resting on its platform," Gabrielli said.

About an hour before the rotation was complete, observers said the boat seemed to suddenly settle down upon its new perch.

Mayor Sergio Ortelli said the island felt a wave of relief as soon as the Concordia was freed from the reef in the initial hours of the operation. But he said there was also the realization that two bodies still have yet to be found, with a fresh search to be launched now.

"While there is happiness today, there is no triumphalism," he told The Associated Press.

The Concordia's captain is on trial for alleged manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning the ship during the chaotic and delayed evacuation. Capt. Francesco Schettino claims the reef wasn't on the nautical charts for the liner's weeklong Mediterranean cruise.

Costa is a division of Miami-based Carnival Corp., the world's largest cruise company.

NICK SLOAN SALVAGE MASTER OF THE COSTA CONCORDIA

Nick Sloane is a well liked figure on the island of Giglio

 As the ship became visible at dawn following the "perfect" operation, the damage done to the hull after spending 20 months crushed under the weight of the ship was plain to see

 This is one of the most daunting and complex salvage operations ever undertaken. "A lot of people didn't think it could be done," said salvage master Nicholas Sloane.

 The ship was righted over an 18-hour operation that ended at 04:00 (02:00 GMT). A 500-strong team of divers and engineers have spent much of the past year stabilising the ship and preparing for this phase.

 The operation began on Monday, as the salvage team gathered around the wreckage - with caissons visible at the side.

 Giant metal chains and cables were attached to the Concordia to help raise it.

 Teams working overnight were slightly delayed by a storm, but the sea and weather conditions were considered right for the operation.

In its heyday the darling of the Sea Costa Condordia

Costa Concordia is seen after it was lifted Upright:

The delicate operation took 19 hours, but it worked, and the Costa Concordia cruise ship is now sitting upright off Italy’s Tuscan coast.

With the help of an underwater laser scanner developed by Waterloo, Ontario tech firm Two-G Robotics, experts used a system of cables, pulleys and counterweights to right the vessel.

A detail of the right side of Costa Concordia, is seen after it was lifted upright, on Tuesday Morning of September 17th 2013

Sept. 17, 2013: The Costa Concordia lies on its side on the Tuscan Island of Giglio, Italy, early Tuesday morning. Using a vast system of steel cables and pulleys, maritime engineers on Monday gingerly winched the massive hull of the Costa Concordia off the reef where the cruise ship capsized in January 2012 and are poised to set it upright. (AP)