WRECKAGE AN UNFORGETTABLE RISE FROM THE


HOW THE COSTA CONCORDIA FOUND ITSELF AFLOAT NEARLY THREE YEARS AFTER CAPSIZING.


Approximately 155 kilometers of wire was used


on the project, utilizing over 172 strandjacks. Photos courtesy Titan Micoperi


that wrecked off of Giglio Island (Tuscany), Italy, in January 2012. Te project was extremely complex due to several factors: removal of the wreck in one piece, minimal environmental impact, protection of Giglio’s economy and tourism industry, and maximum on-the-job safety, which ranged from a minimum of 30 to over 500 marine salvage professionals (representing 24 nationalities).


L


As the world watched in 2012, the Costa Concordia— an enormous cruise liner carrying 4,252 people—capsized off the shore of Giglio after hitting an underwater obstruction. Te ship was in the first phase of a cruise through the Mediterranean when the crew positioned her too close to the island and made contact with the sea floor. Te besieged 114,000-ton vessel remained stranded until this past July 27th (2014), when Titan and Micoperi confirmed that the massive ship was moored safely at the Port of Genoa Voltri, Italy—making the completion of this salvage job the largest and most expensive (over $800 million) in maritime history. Towing the ship from Tuscany to the Port of Genoa was an exceedingly delicate undertaking—commissioning


24 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2014 WIRE ROPE EXCHANGE


the deployment of over a dozen support vessels, with an additional two tugs each at the bow and aft. But before any towing could occur, the ship had to be upright and afloat, and that job was the responsibility of Titan and Micoperi—who instituted a process known as parbuckling to roll the wreckage over. Te parbuckling of the Costa Concordia (essentially, pulling it upright with cables) became international news, especially in the wire rope and salvage communities, in September of 2013. But before it could happen, an artificial seabed made of sand and cement was completed in late 2012, and the vessel was secured in place to prevent further slippage down the natural slope. (It should be noted that the Titan Micoperi team selected Dextron®


ast year, in our March/April issue, we covered the ongoing efforts of international marine salvage experts Titan Salvage and Micoperi as the two companies attempted to recover the Costa Concordia cruise ship


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