It has been dubbed 'The Parbuckling Project' and is the largest marine salvage
operation of its kind and the engineers will now be
rotating the ship into an upright position. If today's operation is successful work will be ongoing until the Spring when it should be ready to be towed to the port of Piombino for scraping.
The work is being done by Titan Salvage of the U.S. and Micoperi of Italy.
The 114,000 ton Costa Concordia sits 300 metres off the coast of the Island of Giglio in the Tuscan Bay. Thirty-two passengers and crew died on the night that Captain Francesco Schettino allegedly took her too close to shore to 'salute' a former colleague. A large hole was torn in the hull and the ship listed over, with 65 percent underwater.
Schettino is on
trial in Grosetto on charges of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning his ship. Two bodies, one crew member and one passenger, have never been recovered and are believed to be inside the ship.
