The Costa Concordia is back in the new with an update conference

The Costa Concordia was in the news again this past week, due to a Press Conference held in Rome, by Costa and the Protezione Civile (Civil Protection) to issue an update on the ongoing salvage operations.

The speakers of the conference featured the following people: 

• Andrea Orlando, Minister of environment (Italy)
• Franco Gabrielli, Government (Italy) deputy commissioner for the Concordia emergency
• Michael Thamm, chief executive officer, Costa Crociere
• Franco Porcellacchia, removal project manager for Costa Cruises. 

Eventual removal of the Costa Concordia wreck will commence in June 2014, with ports in the UK, France, China and Turkey all bidding for the workt to dismantle the vessel.

Winterization (operations to stabilize) measures in Giglio are presently in force. This involves: 

• Positioning of 28 tubular steel braces connecting sponsons on the wreck to underwater platforms on the offshore side. 
• Positioning of grout bags on the inshore side. 
• Installation of an additional holdback system for the bow.

Here is a summary of ongoing operations:

• Crane installed on highest deck to maneuver materials needed for operations. 
• The Concordia wreck is monitored by sensors transmitting data 24/7 to check for any movement in real time. 
• The last minor actions were recorded in the 15 days following parbuckling (indicating the wreck was settling in its current position on the false seabed). 
• The Concordia wreck is also monitored 24/7 for security reasons by a video surveillance system with 41 cameras checking critical areas.