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Final Voyage of the Costa Concordia

Final Voyage of the Costa Concordia

Photo: Titan Salvage
Photo: Titan Salvage

The salvaged remains of the cruise ship Costa Concordia arrived in Genoa on July 27, 2014.  The vessel was able to make the four-day journey from Giglio to Genoa without issue even when storms passed over the vessel during the voyage.


The Costa Concordia will be scrapped in a Genoa dry dock.  Salvagers have stated the vessel will take up to 2 years to dismantle.

Some remaining facts about the Costa Concordia Incident:

  • It’s the largest salvage operation ever attempted so far.  The Costa Concordia is nearly twice the size of the Titanic
  • It’s the most expensive salvage at a cost of 1.5 billion (USD).
  • 80% of the dismantled vessel will be recycled including copper wiring, pipes and materials
  • Over 50,000 tons of steel will be melted down and resold on the market
  • 24 tons of debris was removed from the seabed including furniture, dishes, parts of the vessel along with personal effects

Past articles
Costa Concordia Salvage Live Stream

Costa Concordia Salvage Live Stream

Photo: EPA
Photo: EPA

Salvage operations may take up to 12 hours with the live stream continuing through September 17, 2013.   After the parbuckling procedure is completed, the salvage may continue for an additional month while crews prepare the vessel to be re-floated using the the giant buoyancy tanks welded onto her hull.

Photo: EPA
Photo: EPA
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Rena Summary (November 1 to 26)

Rena Summary (November 1 to 26)

Oil Recovery

The final 319 tons of heavy fuel oil was pumped from the Starboard No. 5 tank on November 13 completing the removal of fuel off the Rena.   Salvors will continue to remove any residual oil found in other parts of the vessel. It is believed that some 60 tons of oil may be trapped in the vessel’s keel.

Container Removal

The crane barge Sea Tow 60 took up position at the stern of the Rena and has removed a total of 95 containers from the vessel.   The containers can only be removed with good weather conditions.   Large swells or high winds cause the greatest risk to operations and have slowed the recovery process.   Some 220 transponders have been attached to containers that have either dangerous cargo or at risk of falling into the sea.  There are over 1100 containers still on board the Rena.

Environmental Recovery

Authorities have reported that 922 tons of waste has been removed from the area beaches.   Crews have used water blasting and washing rocks by hand along the rocky shorelines.   The wildlife facility is currently caring for 409 animals.   Over 2000 dead birds have been collected.

Editorial

The container vessel Rena has remained intact long enough to allow salvage crews to avoid an environmental disaster.   The Rena was predicted not to survive several storms after going aground on October 5 on Astrolabe Reef.  The vessel did suffer structural damage with several cracks along its hull, but has remained intact long enough to allow salvage crews to pump some 1000 tons of fuel off the vessel.   This is a great accomplishment for the salvage company and their employees.   However, the damage to the coastline has already been done.  Over 350 tons of oil was spilled from the vessel fouling the coastline around Tauranga, New Zealand.  Government and the private sector must be prepared for shipwrecks occurring anywhere in the world.

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