By
Rebecca Gibson |
Costa Concordia, which partially capsized off the coast of Giglio Island in Italy on 13 January 2012 killing 32 people, started her final voyage to the Italian port of Genoa at 11am local time today.
Initially raised to a vertical position during a 19-hour parbuckling operation on 17 September 2013, Concordia has been resting on an artificial seabed in Giglio since the Titan-Micoperi team began work to stabilise the vessel in October.
On Tuesday night, engineers completed the final checks on the hydraulics and control systems, which enabled the ship to be slowly released from its mooring and steered away from Giglio. Marking the successful end of the refloating phase, which started on 14 July, the team also raised a blue flag to signal the ship’s imminent departure.
Preliminary operations for Concordia’s departure began at 6am local time on 23 July. After the ferry from Porto Santo passed the site at 8.30am, the salvage team began to disconnect the wreck from the towers of her artificial seabed and connect her bow to two tug boats. The ship initially headed east, before turning north in the direction of Genoa.
Under the leadership of Hans Bosch, a flotilla of 14 vessels carrying salvage experts, environmentalists and pollution response teams will escort Concordia to Genoa, during an operation that is excepted to last until Sunday. A 17-person team of salvage workers will remain onboard Concordia during the journey.
Netherlands-flagged ship Blizzard will serve as the lead towing tug, while Resolve Earl will act as the main towing tug. Using 70 millimetre chains at a distance of 700-800 metres from the ship, the two tugs will pull the Concordia along at 2.5 knots per hour. Two auxiliary tugs will be deployed at the ship’s stern.
During the 200 nautical mile journey, the 114,500 gt Concordia will be supported by buoyed by large, air-filled sponsons (metal boxes), which will enable her to remain afloat despite her damaged state. Sensors attached to the sides of the ship will monitor for possible cracks in the crippled hull, while underwater cameras will track any debris to reduce the risk of toxic waste or oil leaking into the sea.
Once in Genoa, Concordia will be dismantled and recycled during a four-phase project at the San Giorgio del Porto shipyard, which is expected to take up to 22 months.
Environmental remediation activities in Giglio are scheduled to start immediately and will include seabed assessments, the removal of the towers that were previously attached to Concordia and the first tests on the removal of the grout bags used to create the artificial platform where the wreck has been resting since the parbuckling operation last September. Officials will also continue to monitor the quality of the seawater at the site.
Divers are also expected to re-start the search for the body of the final missing victim, Russel Rebello, an Indian waiter who worked on the ship.