island of giglio News

A crucial underwater platform that will help to raise the Costa Concordia was put into place last week at the wreckage site off the coast of the Italian island of Giglio. Also, late in March the ship's bell went missing.

As I write we are but two weeks shy of the 101st anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic in the North Atlantic on April 15, 1912. Naturally the date won't get the attention that the 100 year anniversary did, but it’s worthy of note.

The Costa Concordia disaster was 14 months ago and finally there is a complete plan to remove the ship. While it's been known for months they were refloating and towing it for dismantling, only now have Italian officials decided the port it will go to.

The expected was made official on Monday as Italian prosecutors in Grossetto, Tuscany, formally requested an indictment on the ill-fated Costa Concordia's captain, Francesco Schettino. Schettino was at the helm when the ship capsized on Jan. 13, 2012.

The Bulgarian technician credited with saving hundreds of lives on the Costa Concordia has been named his country's 'Man of the Year'. The award was handed out Monday at the Inter Expo Center in Sofia and Petar Petrov's wife and son accepted it for him.

More than two months of hearings are over and prosecutors in Grosetto, Italy looking into the tragedy of the Costa Concordia have concluded the case should go to a criminal trial. They will file a request for an indictment by the end of January.

The Canadian newsmagazine show, The Fifth Estate, will air an exclusive interview on Friday with the disgraced captain of the doomed Costa Concordia. In the show, Francesco Schettino says the ship's sinking was an accident and that he was not negligent.

Only one week before his trial for manslaughter and abandoning his ship is to begin, the captain of the Costa Concordia, Francesco Schettino, has launched a lawsuit. His lawyer said Schettino is suing for wrongful dismissal and wants his job back.

The crew of the Costa Concordia, the Italian cruise ship that partially sunk and grounded off the coast of the island of Giglio last Jan. 13, has been honored for heroism. They have been given the Lloyd's List 'Seafarer of the Year' award.

The Costa Concordia, the Italian liner that listed and partially submerged in January, is back in the news. The American company involved in removing it, Titan Salvage, now expects to have the ship refloated and towed away by the Spring of 2013.