island of giglio News

The once captain and his former cruise ship were reunited Thursday when, as part of his trial, Francesco Schettino was taken back abroad the Costa Concordia. It was his first time on the doomed ship since the tragedy that took 32 lives on Jan. 13, 2012.

Insurance experts said on Saturday that all claims made as a result of the Costa Concordia disaster could easily end up being $2 billion, or more. Payments made already are at more than $1 billion.

The engineer in charge of the salvage operation of the now-upright Costa Concordia said Saturday the ship could be removed from the shores of the island of Giglio in June. The ship must be "refloated" first as it now sits on an underwater platform.

Four divers who worked for Titan Salvage, one of two companies that raised the Costa Concordia, were caught on the ship in the middle of the night stealing souvenirs. The divers have been fired and will appear in court in Grosseto, Italy.

Nick Sloane, who heads the operation to remove and salvage the Costa Concordia from her perch 300 metres off the coast of the Italian island of Giglio believes the project could turn out badly. He says the ship could break apart or "fracture."

It took a long while to determine but at last there has been a decision on whether to send Costa Concordia Captain Francesco Schettino to trial. A judge in Grosetto, Italy ruled this week that prosecutors can go ahead with the charges.

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.