Concordia to be removed in June
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Updated 15 January 2014, 12.30
Costa Concordia will be removed from the Giglio coast in June before being scrapped later this year.
Italy’s environment minister Andrea Orlando and salvage experts told journalists in Rome that preparation for the towing will start from mid-April and expects to be completed just over two months later.
According to a report by Sky News, the man in charge of removing the ship, Franco Porcellacchia was reported saying: “If there are no unexpected events the whole operation will be completed by the end of June, probably by the middle of June. Then we will have to make the wreck float again, and this will take about seven to 10 days, so our reasonable goal is to refloat the wreck by the end of June”.
The timing will be a relief for tourism businesses and residents on the island who have had to see the wrecked ship on its shores since January 2012.
The ship was made upright during a process known as parbuckling in September last year and has remained stable by more than 1,000 concrete sacks and six under water platforms.
It is not known where the ship will be dismantled yet but the ABLE Middlesbrough Port is amongst the 12 initially listed.
A decision on the dismantling port is expected by early March.
The full cost of the salvage operation is expected to set Costa Cruises back EUR600 million (GBP497m).
It has been two years since the incident, with Captain Schettino releasing a statement on the anniversary day offering his condolences to families of those who died in the disaster.
Survivors visited the Giglio island on Monday for a candlelit march, while relations of the 32 dead threw a wreath into the sea, according to the Telegraph.
There was a moment of silence in the courtroom where Schettino is on trial, who continues to blame his colleagues for the incident.
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