Costa Concordia Refloating to Kick Off Monday

Photo courtesy The Parbuckling Project

The time has come… the refloating of the Costa Concordia has been confirmed to kick off on Monday, July 14, 2014, exactly 914 days after the cruise liner shipwrecked along the small Italian island of Giglio.

According to the project’s website, the salvage consortium Titan-Micoperi has confirmed the start date for Monday provided final authorization from the Observatory and weather conditions over the next few days. A final confirmation of the refloating phase is expected to be announced the day before, i.e. Sunday.

During the first day of the refloating, we should expect to see the vessel partially refloated and moved by tugs about 30 meters from its current position, where it will then be stabilized and held in position by tugs as final preparations for the towing phase are made. You can see gCaptain’s previous coverage of the four phases of the refloating HERE: Costa Concordia Refloating Phase Detailed

A successful refloating of the shipwreck will mean the vessel’s removal from Giglio Island once and for all. The 114,000 ton cruise ship ran aground and partially sank on January 13, 2012 just outside the sleepy island’s main port, killing 32 people and setting off the largest marine salvage project in history.

Once the wreck is refloated, it will then be towed to the port of Genoa where it will be scrapped by a consortium led by the Italian company Saipem. The tow to Genoa is expected to take 5 days.

As was the case with the parbuckling operation in September, we expect to see the same media frenzy surrounding the entire event.