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Costa Concordia Captain Francesco Schettino has been found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Francesco Schettino was at the helm when the ship hit rocks and sank in 2012, killing 32 people.
He was accused of taking the liner too close to the shore and then abandoning ship with passengers and crew still on board.
Francesco Schettino denied the charges and said he was being made a scapegoat.
His lawyers had argued that it was a collective failure of the ship’s crew and others should share the blame for the disaster.
Francesco Schettino, 54, was not present when Judge Giovanni Puliatti read out the verdict at the court in the city of Grosseto.
The captain is expected to appeal against the verdict.
Earlier, Francesco Schettino had made an emotional final appeal to the judge on the last day of the 19-month trial.
He sobbed as he told the court he had spent the last three years “in a media meat grinder”.
“All the responsibility has been loaded on to me with no respect for the truth or for the memory of the victims,” he said.
Prosecutors had sought a 26-year jail term but the court sentenced Francesco Schettino to 10 years for multiple manslaughter, five years for causing the shipwreck and one year for abandoning his passengers.
Investigators had severely criticized his handling of the disaster, accusing him of bringing the 290m-long vessel too close to shore when it struck rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio.
The ship was ripped open when it hit the shore and more than 4,000 passengers and crew were forced into a chaotic evacuation.
Francesco Schettino said he had taken the ship so close to land for “commercial reasons” in a bid to please his passengers and those ashore.
He had also rejected rumors that he had wanted to impress his lover, Domnica Cemortan, who was with him at the helm.
Costa Crociere, the company that owned the ship, sidestepped potential criminal charges in 2013 by agreeing to pay a $1.3m (€1.1 million) fine.
It is being sued by survivors, the Tuscany region and Giglio island for further damages.
Five other employees, including the helmsman, were handed prison sentences ranging from 18 months to two years and 10 months in plea bargains concluded early in the investigation.
Francesco Schettino’s request for a plea bargain was turned down.
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The Costa Concordia’s captain, Francesco Schettino, broke into sobs as he made a final appeal to judges ahead of a verdict in his trial.
Francesco Schettino said he had been made a scapegoat for the accident.
Thirty-two people died in January 2012 when the cruise ship was steered too close to the island of Giglio and hit rocks.
The prosecution wants Francesco Schettino jailed for 26 years for multiple manslaughter, but the captain denies all the charges against him.
Speaking on the last day of his trial, Francesco Schettino said his head had been “offered for sacrifice” in order to safeguard economic interests.
“I have spent the last three years in a media meat grinder,” he said.
“It is difficult to call what I have been living through a <<life>>.”
The wrecked ship captain added: “All the responsibility has been loaded on to me with no respect for the truth or for the memory of the victims.”
Capt. Francesco Schettino was unable to finish his statement, saying “enough” before slumping back into his seat.
The judges in the 19-month trial are due to retire on February 11 to consider a verdict.
Investigators have severely criticized Capt Francesco Schettino’s handling of the disaster, accusing him of bringing the 290m-long vessel too close to shore when it struck rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio.
The trial, in the city of Grosseto, has heard how Costa Concordia was ripped open on the rocks and more than 4,000 passengers and crew were forced into a chaotic evacuation.
Francesco Schettino has also been accused of compounding his crime by abandoning his vessel and saving himself while passengers were in danger – earning him the title “Captain Coward” in the Italian media.
Prosecutors have asked for Francesco Schettino to be jailed on charges of multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship with passengers and crew still on board.
Throughout the trial, the captain’s lawyers have argued that it was a collective failure and others should share the blame for the disaster.
Francesco Schettino has spoken of “commercial reasons” for taking the liner so close to the coast in an attempt to please his passengers and those ashore.
He has rejected rumors that he had wanted to impress his lover, Domnica Cemortan, who was with him at the helm.
In the aftermath of the wreck the ship’s operator, Costa Crociere, was allowed to make a plea bargain and was fined €1 million ($1.13 million).
Some of the survivors argue that Costa Crociere still has questions to answer on issues such as the caliber of the ship’s crew and its operating procedures.
Five senior crew members were convicted of manslaughter in July 2013.
Two officers, the helmsman, the head of cabin service and the head of the crisis team were given up to two years and 10 months in plea bargains.
Francesco Schettino’s request for a plea bargain was turned down.
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The trial of the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster, Capt. Francesco Schettino, is in its final moments in Italy.
Thirty-two people died in January 2012 when Costa Concordia was steered too close to the island of Giglio and hit rocks.
Francesco Schettino is about to find out whether he is guilty of multiple manslaughter.
The prosecution has demanded that Francesco Schettino be jailed for 26 years but the captain denies all the charges against him.
Prosecution and defense lawyers have made final statements, and the judges are close to delivering their verdict.
They have heard how Captain Francesco Schettino sailed his huge ship into disaster.
The captain has told the court that he was attempting to “salute” the island, by carrying out a sort of nautical fly-past that would take the liner skimming past the coast, very close in.
It was an attempt to impress his passengers and those ashore.
The court has examined in detail all that happened when the stunt went terribly wrong: how the ship was ripped open on the rocks and more than 4,000 passengers and crew were forced into a chaotic evacuation in the dark of a winter’s night.
In its closing arguments the prosecution told the court Francesco Schettino had acted with “monstrously gross negligence”.
It said Francesco Schettino had compounded his crime by abandoning his vessel, saving himself, while many of his passengers were still in great danger.
“The captain’s duty to abandon ship last isn’t just an obligation dictated by ancient maritime tradition, but also a legal obligation designed to minimize injuries,” said the prosecution.
Capt. Francesco Schettino “thought only and always of himself”.
All along, Francesco Schettino and his lawyers have argued that others should share the blame for the disaster, that it was a collective failure.
He pointed to the fact that the helmsman had been slow to carry out a steering order at a crucial moment as the ship closed in on the rocks. And he said others on the bridge should have seen the danger coming.
“One of the officers should have said to me, <<Commander, we are on the rocks>>, but instead there was a general silence.”
Francesco Schettino vigorously rejects the allegation that he was so gripped by indecision as the disaster engulfed him that he badly delayed giving the order to abandon ship, endangering many more people.
He argues that he waited because he knew the wind was carrying the ship into shallower, safer water. He insists that his action actually saved many lives.
This trial, with its hundreds of witnesses and thousands of documents was too big for Grosseto’s courthouse, so it was moved to the local theatre, the Teatro Moderno, and the drama is unfolding there.
Outside on the street, a growing throng of journalists watches the lawyers and court officials come and go.
In the bars and cafes, nobody really doubts that Francesco Schettino will be found guilty.
In court, Francesco Schettino’s lawyer, Domenico Pepe, appealed to the judges to acquit the captain. But he also said: “If the court has to impose a penalty, we believe it should be the minimum one in the light of the extenuating circumstances.”
In the aftermath of the wreck of its vessel Costa Crociere was allowed to make a plea bargain and was fined €1 million ($1.13 million).
However, some of the survivors and their lawyers argue that the company still has questions to answer on issues such as the caliber of the ship’s crew and its operating procedures.
On the eve of the verdict, one of the survivors asked how the company could have put a man like Francesco Schettino in charge of the Concordia.
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The remains of the last victim of the Costa Concordia’s 2012 capsize has been found in the ship wreck, Italian officials have said.
Workers for the salvage company recovered the body from a cabin and handed it to the authorities to be identified.
They believe it is Indian waiter Russel Rebello, the last of 32 victims to be recovered from the wreck.
The Costa Concordia partially sank in January 2012 after it hit a reef off the Italian island of Giglio.
The Concordia was finally raised from the sea in July and towed to Genoa to be scrapped.
The captain, Francesco Schettino, is on trial for manslaughter and abandoning ship, charges he denies.
The remains of the last victim of the Costa Concordia’s 2012 capsize has been found in the ship wreck
This is the third time local officials have said Russel Rebello’s remains might have been found.
Tests on the other two occasions determined that the remains were not his.
This time, his brother Kevin said on Facebook he believed Russel was now coming home to India.
“I promised my family that I would bring back home my brother some day. When was the biggest question,” Kevin Rebello said.
“Finally, my younger brother’s body has been found.
“Thanks to everyone who prayed and believed that one day he would be found.”
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Captain Francesco Schettino has returned to the wreck of Costa Concordia cruise ship for the first time as part of his manslaughter trial.
Costa Concordia hit a reef near the island of Giglio in January 2012 and capsized, with the loss of 32 lives.
Francesco Schettino was taken to the wreck on board a small boat, two days after travelling back to Giglio.
He denies the charges of manslaughter and abandoning ship, which could see him jailed for up to 20 years.
The captain arrived on the island off the Tuscan coast on Tuesday and is said to have wept when he saw the wreck from a ferry taking him to Giglio.
Francesco Schettino attended a health-and-safety briefing at a hotel on Thursday morning to prepare him for the short boat trip out to the wreck, on which he was accompanied by a group of court-appointed experts.
He was taken out to the wreck on a small boat and was then seen standing on the ship itself.
Francesco Schettino was being allowed on to the ship “as a defendant, not a consultant”, said Judge Giovanni Puliatti.
The 290m-long vessel was righted in September 2013 in one of the largest, most complex salvage operations ever, but remains stranded after its ill-fated journey.
Francesco Schettino has been accused of leaving the luxury liner before the 4,229 people on board the ship were taken off.
Captain Francesco Schettino has returned to the wreck of Costa Concordia cruise ship for the first time as part of his manslaughter trial
“They want to show that I am weak, just like two years ago. It’s not true. I want to show I’m a gentleman, not a coward,” Italian media quoted him as saying.
He lambasted the media “frenzy” surrounding his return to vessel, describing those who accused him of abandoning the ship of not understanding “a bloody thing”.
“There is a frenzy that is making me nervous,” Francesco Schettino told journalists and cameramen who surrounded him.
“You have to respect civility.”
Correspondents say that he grew increasingly angry on the dockside after the visit, frequently gesticulating as he nervously paced around.
Francesco Schettino has already accepted some degree of responsibility, asking for forgiveness in a television interview last year as he talked of those who died.
But he denies abandoning the ship after it hit a reef near the island.
The captain maintains he managed to steer the stricken vessel closer to shore so it did not sink in deep water where hundreds might have drowned.
Francesco Schettino’s lawyer Domenico Pepe said the captain’s former employer, Costa Crociere, had shifted the blame towards him.
“It is very, very difficult because Schettino does not have the economic resources of Costa,” he said. The firm is believed to be the biggest cruise operator in Europe,
“Schettino is confronting the whole world on his own.”
An Italian court convicted five others of manslaughter in July 2013.
They had all successfully entered plea bargains, whereas Francesco Schettino’s request for a plea bargain was denied by the prosecution.
The complex operation to salvage the Costa Concordia took 18 hours and followed months of stabilization and preparation work by a team of 500 engineers and divers.
Ports in the UK, Italy,France, Turkey and China are now bidding for the lucrative contract to dismantle it.
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Francesco Schettino, the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, is due to visit to the wreck on Thursday.
It will be Francesco Schettino’s first time back on the ship since it hit a reef near the island of Giglio in January 2012 and capsized, killing 32 people.
The visit is part of an investigation at Francesco Schettino’s trial, where he is accused of manslaughter and abandoning ship. He denies the charges.
If found guilty, Francesco Schettino could face up to 20 years in prison.
He arrived back on Giglio, off the Tuscany coast, on Tuesday, and was reported to have wept when he first saw the stranded ship.
The 290m-long vessel was righted in September 2013 in one of the largest, most complex salvage operations ever, but remains stranded.
Capt Francesco Schettino will board the ship along with inspectors on Thursday, but will not be allowed to interfere with their investigation.
Costa Concordia’s Captain Francesco Schettino will revisit ship on Thursday
He would be allowed onto the ship “as a defendant, not a consultant”, said Judge Giovanni Puliatti.
The captain has been accused of leaving the luxury liner before all 4,229 people on board had been evacuated.
Francesco Schettino has already accepted some degree of responsibility, asking for forgiveness in a television interview last year as he talked of those who died.
But he denies abandoning the ship after it hit a reef near the island.
Francesco Schettino maintains he managed to steer the stricken vessel closer to shore so it did not sink in deep water where hundreds might have drowned.
An Italian court convicted five others of manslaughter in July 2013.
They had all successfully entered plea bargains, whereas Francesco Schettino’s request for a plea bargain was denied by the prosecution.
The complex operation to salvage the Costa Concordia took 18 hours and followed months of stabilization and preparation work by a team of 500 engineers and divers.
Ports in Italy, Britain, France, Turkey and China are now bidding for the lucrative contract to dismantle it.
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Moldovan dancer Domnica Cemortan admitted at Francesco Schettino’s trial she had been in a romantic relationship with the captain, and had been present on the ship’s bridge at the moment when the ship ran aground.
Francesco Schettino, the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, faces manslaughter charges after the vessel ran aground in Italy, claiming the lives of 32 of those on board.
Domnica Cemortan admitted at Francesco Schettino’s trial she had been in a romantic relationship with the captain
Domnica Cemortan said: “The story that I distracted the captain is fake, because I was very far from him, he was working and acting like a captain.”
The Moldovan feels all the blame for the crash is being heaped Francesco Schettino, but said there “can not be only one person accused for this big accident, and I asking myself where are the others, where are the other officers in this story?”
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Francesco Schettino’s former lover Domnica Cemortan has revealed how she used to sneak into the Costa Concordia captain’s cabin.
Captain Francesco Schettino, 53, is on trial in Italy being charged with manslaughter after 32 people died in Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster last year.
Domnica Cemortan, 26, was spotted dining with Captain Francesco Schettino on the night the doomed cruise liner capsized.
Despite previously denying any affair with Francesco Schettino, when quizzed in court Domnica Cemortan admitted she was his mistress.
The Moldovan beauty has now revealed how she would sneak into his cabin at 2 a.m. just hours before Francesco Schettino had to be on duty.
Domnica Cemortan told the Sun: “I would make my way to his cabin in the middle of the night. It was all very secretive. I had to make sure no one saw me.”
Francesco Schettino and Domnica Cemortan met on the Costa Concordia cruise ship in December 2011 and began an affair when she returned to the ill-fated liner in January 2012 after Schettino bombarded her with phone calls and emails.
Francesco Schettino’s former lover Domnica Cemortan has revealed how she used to sneak into the Costa Concordia captain’s cabin
Domnica Cemortan admits she was “captivated” by Francesco Schettino and told how they kissed for the first time in his office.
The Moldovan told the newspaper: “I don’t think anyone ever saw me leave his cabin but people were certainly gossiping about us.”
Domnica Cemortan, a mother of one, also hit back after being branded the “blonde siren” who seduced Captain Francesco Schettino.
She told the Sun: “I’m talked about as an <<easy girl>>, the <<blonde sl*t>> who distracted the captain and caused the crash. It’s so wrong. I’m not some little tart.”
Domnica Cemortan, who was with Francesco Schettino on the bridge of the Costa Concordia when it struck rocks, was one of thousands of passengers forced to fight for their lives.
She fled and managed to get into a lifeboat – but narrowly escaped with her life after the ship started to come down on top of it “like something out of a disaster movie.”
Despite her ordeal, Domnica Cemortan maintains that Francesco Schettino is innocent.
Francesco Schettino faces 20 years in prison over charges of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship.
Domnica Cemortan said of the captain: “I pray he doesn’t go to jail. I feel so sorry for him.”
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Domnica Cemortan, a Moldovan dancer who was on the bridge of the Costa Concordia cruise ship with Captain Francesco Schettino, has admitted she was his lover at his trial.
Domnica Cemortan testified that she was in a romantic relationship with the captain and was with him when the cruise ship ran aground.
Francesco Schettino faces multiple charges of manslaughter and abandoning ship.
The January 2012 tragedy killed 32 people.
Francesco Schettino faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
On the night the Costa Concordia ran aground, Domnica Cemortan had dinner with Francesco Schettino before he invited her to join him on the bridge as he oversaw what was meant to be a close sail-past of the little Tuscan island of Giglio.
The Italian media has speculated the captain may have been distracted by Domnica Cemortan’s presence, or even showing off.
In court, Domnica Cemortan acknowledged after being pressed that they had been romantically involved. She boarded the ship as a non-paying passenger hours before the crash, saying “when you are someone’s lover no one asks you for a ticket.” Domnica Cemortan dismissed the remark as a joke to her translator.
Domnica Cemortan said she had worked for the company that operated the Costa Concordia for about three weeks in December 2011. She met Francesco Schettino on a previous cruise.
Domnica Cemortan testified that she was in a romantic relationship with Captain Francesco Schettino and was with him when the Costa Concordia cruise ship ran aground
After the ship hit the rocks, Domnica Cemortan said the captain urged her to “save herself”.
She told court that she helped other passengers to abandon ship before getting into a lifeboat herself.
The court is expected to hear evidence from about 1,000 surviving passengers and crew in Captain Francesco Schettino’s trial.
In testimony earlier in the day, a crew member from the cruise ship told the court he had asked the captain to sail closer to a Tuscan island as a favor to his family.
The ship’s maitre d’ Antonello Tievoli told the court in Grossetto, Italy that he had asked the captain if he could sail close to the island of Giglio because he has family there, the news agency AP reported.
Francesco Schettino obliged on January 6, but was apparently disappointed with the result, and ordered the ship’s helmsman to plot a closer route for next time.
A week later, the Costa Concordia ran aground on rocks after veering too close to the island, with 3,206 passengers and 1,023 crew aboard.
Francesco Schettino has acknowledged fault in the tragedy, but his defense team is arguing the ship sank in part because watertight doors did not function on the ship.
He also told the court in late September that his Indonesian helmsman was to blame for steering the ship onto rocks and ignoring orders to slow down.
However, an Italian naval expert told the trial these were not crucial factors and the crash would have happened anyway.
The helmsman, Jacob Rusli Bin, is one of five employees who were granted plea bargains in return for mild sentences in a separate proceeding. He was given a sentence of one year and eight months.
The 290m-long Costa Concordia ship was righted last month in one of the largest, most complex salvage operations ever that took 18 hours and followed months of stabilization and preparation work by a team of 500 engineers and divers.
That operation allowed divers to retrieve the remains of one of the two people still missing in the disaster, a young waiter. An Italian passenger, Maria Grazia Trecarichi, is still unaccounted for.
Plans are now being made to attempt to remove the Costa Concordia wreckage next year.
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The wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship could be loaded aboard Dockwise Vanguard – a colossal salvage vessel – after a deal was struck with a Dutch company.
The Dockwise Vanguard, capable of picking up oil rigs, has been recruited as an option to move the ship.
The vessel can sink under the Costa Concordia then rise up to lift it clear of the water before sailing it to be scrapped.
Some 32 people died after the Concordia ran aground with more than 4,000 passengers and crew in January 2012.
The wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship could be loaded aboard Dockwise Vanguard
Salvage teams moved the ship to an upright position last month, enabling divers to find the remains of one of two people who were still unaccounted for.
Costa Crociere, Concordia’s owner, said the Vanguard had been retained as one possible option for removing the wreck from its current location off Giglio island in 2014.
It said the $30 million contract to use the salvage vessel would offer a “safe and swift” method to transport the cruise ship to its as yet undetermined final destination.
The company said the operation is the biggest salvage ever attempted on a ship of the Costa Concordia’s size.
The 902ft-long Vanguard has no bow and a flat stern, allowing it contain the longer cruise ship.
The Vanguard, described by its Dutch owner Royal Boskalis as the world’s largest semi-submersible ship, uses vast ballast tanks to lower and raise itself around its cargo.
The company said modifications would need to be made before it is capable of carrying Costa Concordia.
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The remains of Indian waiter Russel Rebello – one of two people still missing from the Costa Concordia – have been found by Italian divers searching the wreck of the cruise ship, officials say.
An Italian passenger, Maria Grazia Trecarichi, is still unaccounted for.
Thirty people had already been confirmed dead after the Costa Concordia partially sank off the island of Giglio last year.
Salvage teams moved it to an upright position last month.
The remains of Indian waiter Russel Rebello have been found on the third deck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship
“The remains have been found by rescuers on the third deck” of the cruise ship, said a civil protection agency spokeswoman, Francesca Maffini.
“Several elements make us say that they could relate to the body of the young waiter of Indian nationality, Russel Rebello,” she said.
The agency the results would not be confirmed for several days, but said Russel Rebello’s family had been informed about the development.
An earlier announcement by the authorities that they had found the remains of two human bodies was subsequently played down.
The search for the two people who remained unaccounted for resumed on September 24, a week after the wreck of the cruise ship had been moved to an upright position and stabilized.
Officials have made the recovery of the remaining bodies a priority.
Divers had previously focused their search for the two missing people on the fourth deck of the Costa Concordia, where they had reportedly been seen for the last time on the evening of the accident.
The captain of the Costa Concordia, Francesco Schettino, is on trial over the disaster.
Francesco Schettino is accused of manslaughter, causing the shipwreck and abandoning ship, but says he is being made a scapegoat for the errors of others.
Divers working on the salvage operation of the Costa Concordia, which crashed off the Italian coast of Giglio in January 2012, have found human remains.
Two people have been unaccounted for since the night the Costa Concordia sank off the Italian shore in a disaster which claimed the lives of 30 other people.
The 951 ft vessel was raised upright last week in a major salvage operation off Giglio island.
Costa Concordia’s Captain Francesco Schettino is on trial over the disaster in January of last year.
Francesco Schettino is accused of manslaughter, causing the shipwreck and abandoning ship, but says he is being made a scapegoat for others’ errors.
“During a search in the water near the central part of the ship, coast guard and police divers found remains which still have to be identified with DNA,” Italy’s civil protection agency said in a statement on Thursday.
Divers working on the salvage operation of the Costa Concordia have found human remains near wreck
The agency’s head, Franco Gabrielli, reaffirmed that further tests were needed but told reporters the remains were “absolutely consistent” with the two missing people, said Reuters news agency.
Recovering the remains after 20 months under the weight of the cruise ship was “almost a miracle,” Franco Gabrielli said.
An Indian waiter, Russel Rebello, and Italian passenger Maria Grazia Trecarichi were reported missing, presumed dead, after the disaster.
It was thought that perhaps they had been trapped beneath the ship and the rocks.
Divers found remains lying just outside the hull on the seabed. They still have not been brought ashore, and the process of running DNA identification tests is yet to begin.
Relatives of the two missing people have been informed of the find.
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Costa Concordia cruise ship was finally pulled upright after a dramatic 19-hour salvage operation.
Salvage officials believe the bodies of waiter Russel Rebello and passenger Maria Grazia Trecarichi could be found in a lifeboat beneath the ship’s hull.
It was hoped remains would become visible as the complex system of cables and hydraulics hauled the vessel – on which 32 lives were lost – from its side.
Salvage teams worked through the night for 19 hours – and decks eventually became visible after being underwater for 20 months since it went down.
The vessel is covered in rust and stained by the sea, while all the windows which were submerged in Giglio harbor, Italy, have been shattered.
Kevin Rebello, the waiter’s brother, and Elio Vincenzi, passenger Maria Grazia Trecarichi’s husband, were expected to arrive on the island today.
“I haven’t slept since yesterday,” Kevin Rebello said in an interview in Rome.
“It’s taken 20 months. If it takes another 20 hours, for me it’s worth the wait.”
Elio Vincenzi said: “I am still hoping to find my wife. This is a tense wait for me and for my daughter.”
Despite fears the ship may break apart before it reached the crucial angle of 65 degrees, the operation has gone smoothly, but slower than expected.
Costa Concordia cruise ship was finally pulled upright after a dramatic 19-hour salvage operation
The $800 million salvage effort is said to be the largest in maritime history, but there will be no saving the $575 million liner – destined for the scrapyard.
Local residents and survivors said that there was an eerie feeling as the ship rose – and some said the sight reminded them of the tragedy.
“Seeing it re-emerge is emotional for me,” said survivor Luciano Castro.
“I could not miss it. That ship could have been my end and instead I am here.”
The operation will not be complete until the vessel is towed away from the island – probably by next spring, after a full survey is done on the wreckage.
Shortly after 4 a.m. today, a foghorn wailed on Giglio island and the head of Italy’s Civil Protection agency announced that the ship had reached vertical.
Franco Gabrielli added that the operation to rotate the cruise liner – known in nautical terms as parbuckling – was complete.
Some 36 giant cables were put across the hull to drag up the ship – and enormous tanks were welded onto its side and filled with water to act as ballast.
“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.”
No environmental spill has been detected so far, he said. Applause rang out among firefighters in the tent where the 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,” Nick 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.”
Costa Concordia slammed into a reef off Giglio Island on January 13, 2012, after the captain brought it too close to shore.
Costa Concordia cruise ship drifted, listed and capsized just off the island’s port, killing 32 people.
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Engineers have succeeded in setting the cruise ship Costa Concordia upright, 20 months after it ran aground off the island of Giglio in Italy.
They said that the unprecedented salvage effort “reached degree zero [vertical], which was our target”.
In the operation that took all of Monday and most of the night, they used cables and metal boxes filled with water to roll the ship onto a platform.
The Costa Concordia capsized in January 2012, killing 32 people.
The bodies of two of the victims of the disaster, by the island of Giglio, have never been found. There are hopes that they may be located during the operation.
The ship was declared completely upright shortly after 04:00 local time (02:00 GMT) on Tuesday.
Franco Gabrielli, the head of Italy’s Civil Protection Authority, said the vessel was now sitting on a platform built on the sea bed.
“A perfect operation, I must say,” said Franco Porcellacchia, leader of the technical team for Costa Cruise, the owner of the ship.
He added that no environmental spill was detected so far.
Engineers have succeeded in setting the cruise ship Costa Concordia upright
“I think the whole team is proud of what they achieved because a lot of people didn’t think it could be done,” said salvage master Nick Sloane – but he added “it’s not over yet”.
As daylight broke, the now-upright, brown hulk of the ship was visible – its hull muddy and crushed from 20 months spent submerged on its side.
Booms and nets were put in place before the operation started – to combat any pollution threat in what is a marine national park.
The 114,000-gross tonnage ship – twice as heavy as the Titanic – was on Monday raised from rocks on which it had been lying and roll up onto her keel.
More than 50 enormous chains and winches were used to break the ship away from the reef – the process known as parbuckling.
During the marathon operation, the ship could be seen slowly emerging from the water.
The engineers had originally planned to complete the operation by Monday evening, but it had to be delayed by three hours because of a storm.
The procedure was carried out very slowly to prevent further damage to the hull, which spent months partially submerged in 50ft of water and fully exposed to the elements.
Officials now plan to fully inspect the vessel and begin to prepare the next stage – the effort to repair and refloat it and eventually tow it away to be destroyed.
Engineers have never tried to lift such a huge ship – over 951 feet long – before.
Five people have been convicted of manslaughter over the disaster. Costa Concordia Captain Francesco Schettino is currently on trial accused of manslaughter and abandoning ship.
Giglio mayor Sergio Ortelli earlier said that the removal of the Costa Concordia would bring an end to “a huge problem that we have in our port and that we want to solve as soon as we can”.
“Islanders can’t wait to see the back of it,” he said.
The small island’s economy depends hugely on tourism and the presence of the wreck has discouraged visitors.
Costa Concordia salvage has so far cost more than 600 million euros ($800 million) and is expected to cost much more before the operation is complete.
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Engineering officials say they have succeeded in lifting the cruise ship Costa Concordia free of rocks, 20 months after it ran aground.
Efforts to right the ship, one of the largest and most daunting salvage operations ever undertaken, are expected to last up to 12 hours.
Costa Concordia has been detached from rocks and moved on to a platform constructed on the sea bed, officials said.
Thirty-two people died when the ship ran aground off the Tuscan coast.
The bodies of two of those killed in the January 2012 disaster, by the island of Giglio, have never been found. There are hopes that they may be located during the operation, although officials said on Monday there was no sign of them so far.
Engineers have never tried to lift such a huge ship so close to land.
The start of this huge operation was potentially the most problematic phase, and the stage that worried the engineers the most.
But now the ship has been broken away from the reef on which she has been lying, the hope is that it will now be possible to rotate the wreck more easily.
The Italian Civil Protection Authority said the sea and weather conditions had mostly been right for the attempt, but the operation had to be delayed by three hours because of an overnight storm.
The storm delayed the positioning of a barge carrying a remote control room close to the shipwreck, from where engineers were using pulleys and counterweights to move the Concordia from the steep underwater incline it is resting on.
Sergio Girotto, an engineer working on the project, told reporters on Monday the operation was going smoothly.
“Everything is going according to plan, we are following the plan to sequence… There is no problem whatsoever.”
Costa Concordia has been freed from rocks, 20 months after it ran aground
The ship could be seen emerging from the water as operators worked to hoist it upright.
Footage from the scene of the salvage operation clearly shows the watermark on the part of the ship that has been submerged for the past 20 months.
Everything about the project is on a colossal scale.
Salvage workers have attached giant metal chains and cables to the ship, which weighs more than 114,000 tonnes and is roughly the length of three football fields.
More than 50 enormous chains and winches are being used to break the ship – twice as heavy as the Titanic – away from the reef on which it has been lying and roll her up onto her keel.
Engineers will try to roll the ship up using the cables and the weight of water contained in huge metal boxes welded to the ship’s sides – a process called parbuckling.
This procedure must be done very slowly to prevent further damage to the hull, which has spent more than 18 months partially submerged in 50ft of water and fully exposed to the elements.
By the end of Monday, it should be sitting on a specially prepared underwater platform of steel and concrete.
Only after the ship is back up on her keel will it be possible to inspect it fully and begin to plan the next stage – the effort to repair and re-float it and eventually tow it away to be destroyed.
The head of the operation, Nick Sloane, told the AFP news agency that it was now or never for the Costa Concordia, because the hull was gradually weakening and might not survive another winter.
If the operation goes wrong, environmentalists warn that toxic substances could leak out into the sea.
There are also concerns that filthy water trapped in the rotting, rusting wreck will pour out as the ship rises.
But booms and nets have been put in place to try to combat any pollution threat in what is a marine national park.
Five people have been convicted of manslaughter over the disaster, and the ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, is currently on trial accused of manslaughter and abandoning ship.
Giglio mayor Sergio Ortelli said that the removal of the ship would bring an end to “a huge problem that we have in our port and that we want to solve as soon as we can”.
“Islanders can’t wait to see the back of it,” he said.
On Sunday, prayers for the operation were said during Sunday Mass on the island.
The small island’s economy depends hugely on tourism and the presence of the wreck has discouraged visitors.
The salvage project has so far cost more than 600 million euros ($800 million) and is expected to cost much more before the operation is complete.
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An attempt to pull the shipwrecked Costa Concordia upright – one of the largest and most daunting salvage operations ever undertaken – is under way.
The operation was delayed for three hours because of an overnight storm, but began at 09:00 local time.
Righting the ship is expected to take up to 12 hours.
Engineers have never tried to lift such a huge ship so close to land. Thirty-two people died when it hit rocks.
The bodies of two of the dead, a passenger and a crew member, have never been recovered and may be found during the operation.
The Italian Civil Protection Authority said the sea and weather conditions had mostly been right for the attempt.
The storm overnight on Sunday delayed the positioning of a barge carrying a remote control room close to the shipwreck.
From that room, engineers will work using pulleys and counterweights to move the Concordia from the steep underwater incline it is resting on.
Sergio Girotto, an engineer working on the project, told reporters on Monday the operation was going ahead as planned: “Everything is going according to plan, we are following the plan to sequence… There is no problem whatsoever.”
He added that after the operation had been going for a couple of hours, “we should be able to see something with the naked eye”.
Costa Concordia raising is one of the largest and most daunting salvage operations ever undertaken
The incident happened off the Tuscan island of Giglio in January 2012.
The vessel has been lying on its side ever since.
Salvage workers are attaching giant metal chains and cables to the ship, which weighs more than 114,000 tonnes and is roughly the length of three football fields.
Five people have already been convicted of manslaughter over the disaster, and the ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, is currently on trial accused of manslaughter and abandoning ship.
Officials say that they still need to make preparations for the salvage operation which they were planning to do on Sunday night before the storm.
The salvage operation had been due to begin at 06:00 on Monday.
“Due to heavy storms tonight, the operation has been put back by two hours,” to 08:00 civil protection chief Franco Gabrieli said.
Everything about the project is on a colossal scale.
More than 50 enormous chains and winches will be used to roll the ship – twice as heavy as the Titanic – up onto her keel.
By the end of Monday it should be sitting on a specially prepared underwater platform of steel and concrete.
Only after the ship is back up on her keel will it be possible to inspect it fully and begin to plan the next stage – the effort to repair and re-float it – and eventually tow it away to be destroyed.
The head of the operation, Nick Sloane, told AFP news agency that it was now or never for the Costa Concordia, because the hull was gradually weakening and might not survive another winter.
Engineers will try to roll the ship up using cables and the weight of water contained in huge metal boxes welded to the ship’s sides – a process called parbuckling.
This procedure must be done very slowly to prevent further damage to the hull, which has spent more than 18 months partially submerged in 50ft of water and fully exposed to the elements.
If the operation goes wrong, environmentalists warn that toxic substances could leak out into the sea. But booms and nets are in place to try to catch anything that emerges from the wreck.
For the people of Giglio, the salvage operation will be an important moment – and a special prayer was said during Sunday Mass.
Giglio mayor Sergio Ortelli said that the removal of the ship would bring an end to “a huge problem that we have in our port and that we want to solve as soon as we can”.
“Islanders can’t wait to see the back of it,” he said.
The small island’s economy depends hugely on tourism and the presence of the wreck has discouraged visitors.
Costa Concordia salvage project has so far cost more than 600 million euros ($800 million) and could cost a lot more by the time the operation is complete.
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Costa Concordia salvage will go ahead on Monday, Italian officials have confirmed.
The Civil Protection agency said the sea and weather conditions were right for the salvage attempt.
Engineers have never tried to move such a huge ship so close to land.
Thirty-two people died when the cruise ship hit rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio in January 2012. It has been lying on its side ever since.
Five people have already been convicted of manslaughter over the disaster, and the ship’s captain, Francesco Schettino, is currently on trial accused of manslaughter and abandoning ship.
The salvage operation is due to begin at 06:00 on Monday, and it is being described as one of the largest and most daunting ever attempted.
Costa Concordia salvage will go ahead on Monday
The head of the operation, Nick Sloane, told AFP news agency that it was now or never for the Costa Concordia, because the hull was gradually weakening and might not survive another winter.
Engineers will try to roll the ship up using cables and the weight of water contained in huge metal boxes welded to the ship’s sides – a process called parbuckling.
This procedure must be done very slowly to prevent further damage to the hull, which has spent more than 18 months partially submerged in 50ft of water and fully exposed to the elements.
More boxes will then be attached to the other side, and the water will be replaced with air to add buoyancy, allowing the vessel to be towed away and broken up for scrap.
If the operation goes wrong, environmentalists warn that toxic substances could leak out into the sea.
For the people of Giglio, the salvage operation will be an important moment – and a special prayer was said during Sunday Mass.
The small island’s economy depends hugely on tourism and the presence of the wreck has discouraged visitors.
The salvage project has so far cost more than 600 million euros ($800 million) and could cost a lot more by the time the operation is complete.
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An Italian court has convicted five people of manslaughter over the deadly 2012 Costa Concordia shipwreck off Giglio.
The boat’s helmsman, cabin service director, two ship officers and the head of the Italian company’s crisis team were sentenced to up to two years and 10 months in prison for multiple manslaughter, negligence and shipwreck.
Reports say they may avoid prison-time.
The trial of Captain Francesco Schettino has been adjourned after he requested electrical tests on the ship.
Francesco Schettino is charged with multiple manslaughter for causing the shipwreck and abandoning the vessel with thousands still aboard. His case will resume on 23 September after Italy’s summer holidays.
Thirty-two people were killed when the Costa Crociere ship capsized off the island of Giglio in January 2012.
Deputy commander Ciro Ambrosio, third officer Silvia Coronica, helmsman Jacob Rusli Bin, cabin service manager and Costa Crociere crisis co-ordinator Roberto Ferrarini
The five defendants were Roberto Ferrarini, director of the Italian cruise company’s crisis unit, cabin service director Manrico Giampedroni, first officer Ciro Ambrosio, Indonesian helmsman Jacob Rusli Bin and third officer Silvia Coronica.
They received prison sentences ranging from 18 months to two years and 10 months as the court agreed to plea bargains in order to avoid a lengthy trial.
The heaviest sentence was given to Roberto Ferranini who was ashore as the disaster unfolded and in charge of co-ordinating the cruise ship company’s response to the crisis.
An Italian court has convicted five people of manslaughter over the deadly 2012 Costa Concordia shipwreck off Giglio
None is likely to go to jail as sentences of under two years are suspended in Italy, while longer sentences may be appealed or replaced with community service, Reuters cited judicial sources as saying.
Francesco Schettino’s lawyers say he faces a maximum 20 years in jail if found guilty. He denies the charges and says that without his actions many more people would have died.
The trial is taking place in Grosseto, the city nearest the site of the wreck, and much of the case against him has already been disclosed in a report by court-appointed experts.
Francesco Schettino has been accused of leaving the luxury liner before all those on board – 4,229 – had been evacuated and steering it too fast and too close to shore during a night-time, sail-past salute to people on the tiny island off Tuscany.
He has already accepted some degree of responsibility, asking for forgiveness in a television interview last year as he talked of those who died.
However, Francesco Schettino maintains he managed to steer the stricken vessel closer to shore so it did not sink in deep water where hundreds might have drowned.
His lawyers say he is being made a scapegoat for what was simply an accident.
The vessel was holed by rocks just as many passengers were dining on the first night of their cruise. A disorganized evacuation followed as many of those on board panicked when the ship began to tilt to one side.
Costa Crociere, part of the American-based Carnival Corporation, agreed to pay a $1.3 million fine in April to settle possible criminal charges.
Most passengers have already accepted compensation of about 11,000 euros ($14,200) each, but remaining groups of survivors are holding out for more.
The Costa Concordia still lies partially submerged while salvage crews work to refloat it.
Costa Concordia jail sentences:
- Roberto Ferrarini – two years and 10 months
- Manrico Giampedroni – two years and six months
- Ciro Ambrosio – one year and 11 months
- Jacob Rusli Bin – one year and eight months
- Silvia Coronica – one year and six months
The trial of Francesco Schettino, the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, which ran aground off Italy last year, has opened and been adjourned until next week.
Francesco Schettino, 52, faces charges of multiple manslaughter and abandoning ship.
Thirty-two people died when the ship hit rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio in January 2012 and then tipped onto its side.
Tuesday’s hearing was adjourned because of a nationwide lawyers’ strike.
Francesco Schettino has been accused of steering the luxury liner too fast and too close to the shore, and of leaving the ship before all of the 4,229 passengers and crew were taken off.
He was allegedly performing a risky night-time sail-past salute to people on the tiny island of Giglio.
Captain Francesco Schettino faces charges of multiple manslaughter and abandoning he Costa Concordia cruise ship
The Costa Concordia ship was holed by rocks on the left-hand side causing it to list, as passengers dined on the first night of the cruise.
A chaotic and disorganized evacuation ensued. By the time the order to evacuate came, the Costa Concordia was listing so far to one side that many lifeboats could not be used.
The liner is still lying on its side, half-submerged, off Giglio. Two people are still listed as missing.
Captain Francesco Schettino denies the charges, and his defense is expected to argue that no single person was to blame for the accident.
He claims his maneuvering of the ship closer to shore saved lives.
The trial is being heard in Grosseto, a city 90 miles north-west of Rome which is nearest to the site of the wreck. It is taking place in the city’s theatre, rather than its small courthouse.
In addition to the hundreds of survivors seeking compensation, the local authorities in Giglio are hoping for at least 80 million euros ($105 million) to make up for alleged lost revenue and the eyesore that has been on its shoreline.
Up to 430 witnesses and 250 plaintiffs could be called during Francesco Schettino’s trial, AFP news agency reports.
Francesco Schettino’s lawyers say he faces a maximum 20 years in jail if found guilty.
The Costa Concordia still lies partially submerged off the coast of Giglio while salvage crews work to refloat it.
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Francesco Schettino, the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, which ran aground off Italy last year, is set to go on trial.
Francesco Schettino, 52, faces charges of multiple manslaughter and abandoning ship.
Thirty-two people died when the ship hit a rock off the Tuscan island of Giglio in January 2012 and then tipped onto its side.
A nationwide strike by Italian lawyers is expected to affect the start of the trial, due later on Tuesday.
Francesco Schettino has been accused of steering the luxury liner too fast and too close to the shore, and of leaving the ship before all of the 4,229 passengers were taken off.
He was allegedly performing a risky night-time sail-past salute to people on the tiny island of Giglio.
The ship was holed by rocks on the left-hand side causing it to list, as passengers dined on the first night of the cruise.
Francesco Schettino, the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, which ran aground off Italy last year, is set to go on trial
A chaotic and disorganized evacuation ensued. By the time the order to evacuate came, the Costa Concordia was listing so far to one side that many lifeboats could not be used.
The liner is still lying on its side, half-submerged, off Giglio. Two people are still listed as missing.
Captain Francesco Schettino denies the charges, and his defense is expected to argue that no single person was to blame for the accident.
He claims his manoeuvring of the ship closer to shore saved lives.
Francesco Schettino is expected in court in Grosseto, a city 90 miles north-west of Rome which is nearest to the site of the wreck.
However, the trial could be delayed by a week if his lawyers observe the strike, scheduled to start on Tuesday.
In addition to the hundreds of survivors seeking compensation, the local authorities in Giglio are hoping for at least 80 million euros ($105 million) to make up for alleged lost revenue and the eyesore that has been on its shoreline.
Up to 430 witnesses and 250 plaintiffs could be called during Francesco Schettino’s trial, AFP news agency reports.
Francesco Schettino’s lawyers say he faces a maximum 20 years in jail if found guilty.
The Costa Concordia still lies partially submerged off the coast of Giglio while salvage crews work to refloat it.
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All 3,200 passengers have now disembarked from crippled Carnival Triumph cruise ship that reached the US coast four days after an engine fire knocked out power.
The Carnival Triumph docked in Mobile, Alabama, at 21:15 on Thursday.
Disembarking the passengers took more than four hours and many still face a long bus journey home or to the port of departure, Galveston.
Passengers had reported sewage on the floors, poor sanitation and access to toilets, and lengthy queues for food.
Some lined the decks as the 900-ft ship docked, waving and cheering at people on shore.
Chants of “Let me off, let me off!” could be heard coming from the ship as they waited to disembark.
One homemade sign read: “Sweet Home Alabama!” and another: “The ship’s afloat, so is the sewage.”
Disembarking passenger Brittany Ferguson said: “I’m feeling awesome just to see land and buildings. The scariest part was just not knowing when we’d get back.”
Carnival Corp which operates the ship, was also the owner of Costa Concordia, the cruise ship that ran aground off the Italian coast and sank last year, killing 32 people.
The Carnival Triumph took six hours to be towed through the 30-mile channel to the docks at Mobile – the largest ship ever to dock there.
The passengers are being taken by bus either to Galveston in Texas, which is about seven hours away, or to New Orleans, where the firm said it had booked 1,500 hotel rooms. New Orleans is two hours away.
All 3,200 passengers have now disembarked from crippled Carnival Triumph cruise ship that reached the US coast four days after an engine fire knocked out power
Carnival CEO Gerry Cahill apologized again for the “very poor” conditions on board.
“We pride ourselves on providing our guests with a great vacation experience, and clearly we failed in this particular case,” he said.
Hospitality staff will be sent on early holiday with full pay or transferred to other ships, depending on the length remaining in their contracts, senior vice-president Terry Thornton said.
Passenger Janie Baker told NBC by phone on Thursday that conditions on the ship were “extremely terrible”. There was no electricity and few working toilets, she said.
Janie Baker described using plastic bags to go to the toilet and that she had seen a woman pass out while waiting for food.
The stench from overflowing toilets and drainpipes made some cabins uninhabitable and many people slept in corridors, while others took bedding out into the open to escape the heat and foul smell.
Passengers will be offered a full refund and discounts on future cruises. Carnival announced on Wednesday passengers would each get an additional $500 in compensation.
But the firm has disputed the accounts describing the ship as filthy, saying employees were doing everything they could to ensure people were comfortable.
Carnival has cancelled more than a dozen planned voyages aboard the Triumph, while acknowledging that the crippled ship had other mechanical problems in the weeks before the fire.
Spokesman Vance Gulliksen said Triumph had an earlier electrical problem with the ship’s alternator but that repairs were completed by February 2. He said there was no evidence linking the previous problem to Sunday’s fire.
The National Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation into the fire.
No-one was injured in the blaze, but one passenger with a pre-existing medical condition was taken off the ship as a precaution.
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The wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship in Italy will be removed by September at the latest, officials overseeing the work have said.
It has been lying on its side off the island of Giglio, on the coast of Tuscany, since it capsized a year ago with the loss of more than 30 lives.
Because it lies in a marine nature reserve, cutting it up could be hugely damaging to the local environment.
Instead, it will be lifted upright and towed to the mainland for dismantling.
Costa Concordia hit rocks and sank off the Italian coast on January 13, 2012.
Captain Francesco Schettino is accused of causing a shipwreck, manslaughter and abandoning ship before all passengers were evacuated.
The wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship in Italy will be removed by September at the latest
Giving the latest time schedule, officials said that it might be possible to remove the Concordia as early as June.
The local islanders are desperate to see it go as they depend almost entirely on tourism.
Although the wreck has attracted some sightseers, such people only come for the briefest time and spend almost nothing.
Meanwhile, the islanders say that the more traditional, long-stay tourist trade has been cut by at least 40%.
People just do not want to spend their holiday in a place that is the scene of a colossal salvage operation.
And for local people, the presence of the wreck just beyond the harbor is a constant reminder of the disaster.
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Almost a year ago, more than 3,000 people were relaxing aboard the opulent cruise liner Costa Concordia at the start of a week-long Mediterranean cruise. Today the ship is the subject of possibly the largest and most daunting marine salvage operation ever attempted.
On Friday 13 January 2012, Costa Concordia heeled over on to its side, with more than 4,000 people on board, just off the coast of the small Italian island of Giglio.
Thirty-two passengers and crew members died in the accident, which unfolded when Capt Francesco Schettino steered the ship too close to shore while trying to show it off to islanders, and hit a rock.
Pockmarked with rust smears, its once bright paintwork bleached by the sun, the hulk of the Costa Concordia makes a forlorn spectacle.
Winter storms have battered its exposed flanks, making the work of the 400-strong salvage team even more difficult.
It was originally planned that the vessel would be removed from Giglio by the spring of 2013. However, work is now expected to be complete “by the end of summer”.
Much of the work so far has been preparatory.
Appendages, steel cables and anchor chains have been welded to the hull by the salvage workers, who are working day and night to recover the 114,000-tonne metal bulk.
No operation on the scale of that to recover the Costa Concordia has ever been attempted. It is being carried out by salvage companies Titan and Micoperi, and will unfold in several stages.
The basic plan is to roll the ship upright and then refloat it using huge metal boxes, or caissons, welded to its sides.
The vessel, which still contains tons of rotting food, furniture, bedding and passengers’ belongings, will then be towed away intact to prevent damage to the environment.
To prepare for the rollover operation, divers have attached heavy steel cables to anchor the ship and prevent it slipping into deeper water.
Large steel plates will be positioned beneath the hull as support to prevent it breaking up while the operation is under way.
Costa Concordia is the subject of possibly the largest and most daunting marine salvage operation ever attempted
In December, the ship’s funnel was removed to allow better access to the ship.
Project director Franco Porcellacchia said: “This is a very delicate and unusual project. We have no reference here.
“At the moment, we are working on the preparation of the seabed so that the ship rotates properly. We’re using grout bags containing sand and cement to make an artificial seabed.”
With the ship stabilized, the rollover is expected to take two days, as it must be done painstakingly slowly to prevent further damage to the weakened hull.
A series of steel platforms is being positioned underneath to cradle the ship when it returns to its upright position.
Once upright, more caissons will be attached to the side that had been submerged, and the water in them will then be replaced with air to give buoyancy and allow the wreck to be towed away.
With the ship considered beyond economic repair, its final destination is expected to be a dry dock in Sicily, where it will be cut up.
Franco Porcellacchia said environmental risks were key concerns.
“Salvage teams do not have access to the inside, but we are working to prevent any substance from inside leaking. So far we have recorded no pollution and the situation is being constantly monitored by the authorities.
“The salvage is a joint venture [between Titan and Micoperi], but that contract is terminated when the ship is raised,” Franco Porcellacchia said.
“Dismantling it is another ball game.”
KEY EVENTS
- 13 January: Costa Concordia runs aground
- 28 January: Operation to remove fuel delayed due to bad weather
- 31 January: Search for bodies abandoned
- 12 February: Fuel removal operation finally begins
- 22 March: Five more bodies found in wreck
- 24 March: Fuel removal work completed
- 21 April: Salvage contract awarded to firms Titan Salvage and Micoperi
- 15 October: Captain Francesco Schettino appears at court inquiry
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Francesco Schettino, the captain of Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia, which ran aground killing more than 30 people in January, has said he is sorry for the disaster.
In an interview on Italian TV, Francesco Schettino said he thought constantly about the victims.
But he insisted others should also share the blame, saying the ship had been under the command of another officer at the time.
Francesco Schettino denies charges including manslaughter and causing a shipwreck.
The ship struck rocks and capsized near the island of Giglio, off the coast of Tuscany.
An Italian judge recently lifted Francesco Schettino’s house arrest, but said he must not leave his hometown, near Naples, while the investigation continues.
Captain Francesco Schettino has said he is sorry for Costa Concordia disaster
“When there’s an accident, it is not just the ship that is identified or the company, the captain is identified and so it’s normal that I should apologize as a representative of this system,” he told Italy’s Canale 5 television.
Francesco Schettino said he blamed himself for being “distracted” but said he had not been on the bridge when the ship ran aground.
“At that moment, I went up to the deck and ordered the ship to be put on manual navigation and I didn’t have command, that’s to say being in charge of sailing the ship, that was the officer,” he said.
Following the accident there was speculation that the captain had sailed too close to the island because he was trying to show off his seamanship skills to a young woman on the ship’s bridge.
Francesco Schettino denied this, and also denied that the woman had been his lover.
When asked about the youngest passenger who died – a five-year-old girl – he could not answer and broke down.
In a letter published recently in Italy’s La Corriere della Sera newspaper, Francesco Schettino argued that he had saved many lives by steering the stricken vessel into shallow water.
In a phone call recorded during the rescue operation, a local port authority chief Gregorio de Falco can be heard chastising the captain and telling him to get back on board the ship to help stranded passengers.
Francesco Schettino was arrested shortly afterwards.
Francesco Schettino, captain of the Costa Concordia ship which ran aground killing more than 30 people, has said a “divine hand” guided him, preventing greater tragedy.
Francesco Schettino has released a letter, published in Italy’s La Corriere della Sera newspaper, explaining his version of events.
The ship struck rocks and capsized near the island of Giglio, off the coast of Tuscany, in January.
The letter comes as an Italian judge lifted Francesco Schettino’s house arrest.
Francesco Schettino has released a letter, published in Italy's La Corriere della Sera newspaper, explaining his version of events
The judge said that Francesco Schettino must not leave his hometown, near Naples, while the investigation continues.
The cruise firm contends that Francesco Schettino steered the vessel too close to shore.
But, in his letter, Francesco Schettino argues that he avoided sailing head-on into the rocks, and saved many lives by steering the stricken vessel into shallow water.
Francesco Schettino denies the charges against him which include manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship.
“I created the best possible circumstances to save everyone, regardless of how events subsequently unfolded,” he wrote.
He also defended the speed of his decision-making on the night of the crash.
“A captain can take the time required to evaluate the emergency without creating panic. Only he is responsible, first before God, and then before men,” he wrote.
He said that no-one advised him that they were off the ship’s predetermined route and it was only when he saw “white foam” to his left that he realized how close to the rocks they were sailing.
“That was the sign that led me to give the order to steer starboard, by pure instinct. In that moment a divine hand no doubt rested upon my head. If I had continued on that path we would have hit the rocks with the bow. It would have been a catastrophe.”
Italian investigators are holding an inquiry into the cause of the Costa Concordia disaster and a court hearing is due on 21 July at which the full results of technical analysis will be heard.
