island of giglio News

It has been there, a large blot on the horizon of the Italian island of Giglio, since Jan. 13 of 2012, over 27 months. But Italy's environmental minister, Gian Luca Galetti, said Wednesday that the Costa Concordia, now upright, will soon be towed away.

The trial of Francesco Schettino, the captain of the Costa Concordia, the cruise ship that hit a reef Jan. 13, 2012, killing 32, is ongoing and an important witness may soon take the stand. That witness is Rusil Bin, the helmsman on that fateful night.

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.