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Costa Concordia Ready for 10-Mile Tow – Update

Costa Concordia Ready for 10-Mile Tow – Update

Mike Schuler
Total Views: 64
May 10, 2015

The Costa Concordia moored at the “Seawall” pier in the Port of Prà Voltri, Genoa, Italy. Photo: Ship Recycling Consortium

Update: The transfer of the Costa Concordia to the Port of Genoa “Molo Ex Superbacino” area will commence Monday, May 11 at 4 pm local time, the Consortium in charge of the dismantling project has confirmed. 

The Costa Concordia wreck is ready to be moved to a new dock about 10 miles away from its current location, where the ship will continue to be dismantled.

Since arriving in Genoa, Italy in July 2014, the Costa Concordia has been berthed at Prà Voltri Port where the first phase of the dismantling and scrapping project has taken place.

Phase 1 of the project involved the removal of over 5,700 tons of materials from the ship – such as furniture and internal structures – in order to reach the draft required for the transfer from the breakwater at Prà Voltri to the Port of Genoa “Molo Ex Superbacino” area, about 10 miles away, where the next phases of the project will be carried out.

The Ship Recycling Consortium, which is made up of the Italian company Saipem (51%) and San Giorgia del Porto (49%), says it is now awaiting formal authorization for the transfer. Weather and sea conditions are obviously a key factor that will determine exactly when the tow will commence, however the Consortium has said that they are looking for the best weather window starting next week.

The tow is expected to take about 24 hours and will include exit maneuvers from the Prà Voltri breakwater, navigation (expected to last about 11 hours), and the entrance maneuvers in the ex Superbacino dock area of the Genoa Port.

The entire dismantling project is made up of four individual phases. Phase two kicks off with the transfer, followed by the dismantling of structures from decks 14 to 2. After that, Phase 3 involves preparing the wreck for its transfer to dry dock, located in the same harbor, where the ship will eventually be fully dismantled and recycled during Phase 4. The main objective of Phase 3 will be to create bouyancy which will allow for the removal of the 30 sponsons currently keeping the wreck afloat.

The entire dismantling project is expected to take a total of about 22 months and will involve between 100 and 250 personnel working at any given time.

See Also: The Four Phases of the Costa Concordia Dismantling Project

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