Photo courtesy of The Parbuckling Project
The Costa Concordia has arrived at its final resting place, nearing the end of a 2½-year saga and the biggest maritime salvage operation ever.
The wreck arrived at the entrance of Voltri Port in Genoa, Italy, at about 5 a.m. local time Sunday, right on schedule.
The towing operation took about four days at a pace of 1-2 knots. As it neared Genoa, harbor pilots boarded to guide the hull into the shipyard, and were followed by Costa Crociere CEO Michael Thamm, who greeted Nick Sloane, the man who oversaw the $2 billion operation to remove the Concordia from Giglio Island.
"I wanted to personally thank Nick Sloane and the whole team for the extraordinary commitment they have always demonstrated throughout the project and wish them good work at the beginning of an important day of complex mooring operations," Thamm said.
Once it enters the port and is secured, the vessel will be dismantled, a process expected to take 22 months.
Costa said the project is "an extremely complex technical engineering feat - considered the biggest salvage ever attempted on a ship of its size - with the deployment of the finest international expertise, state-of-the-art technology and unprecedented financial resources. The priorities of the project were clear from the outset: respect for the environment, workplace safety and protection of the Giglio Island's socio-economic fabric."
As the delicate operation neared the end, Capt. Francesco Schettino, the master of the vessel on that fateful night, was photographed at a "White Party" on the glamorous island of Ischia. The party was hosted by an Italian publisher, leading to speculation that he would publish a book by the disgraced captain once his trial is over, according to a story in the Telegraph newspaper. Schettino is still on trial in Italy on numerous charges, including manslaughter and abandoning ship.
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