The Costa Concordia refloating was completed Tuesday afternoon. Works are in progress to complete the last operations to prepare the Concordia for the departure and for the mooring in Genoa Voltri Port.
On Wednesday morning, project organizer Titan Micoperi will begin the departure maneuvers for the Concordia to leave from Isola del Giglio. Operations are planned to be completed in about four hours. The wreck will be disconnected from the towers and connected to two tug boats at bow.
In the meantime, the results of the analysis performed on the sea waters confirm their quality. After Concordia departure, environmental monitoring will continue in the upcoming days. The activities for the environmental remediation will be started immediately, with the sea bed assessment, the removal of the towers, and the first tests on the removal of the grout bags used to create the false sea bed on which the wreck laid before the refloating.
Plans to tow the 290-metre wreckage of the Costa Concordia from the coast of the Italian island it struck two-and-a-half-years ago, were delayed on Sunday by forecasts of rough seas and final checks to the deteriorated cruise liner, according to officials.
Thirty-two people died on board the cruise liner when it struck the Tuscan island of Giglio in January 2012. The body of Russel Rebello, an Indian waiter, has still not been found.
As part of one of the biggest maritime salvage operations in history, the ship was brought upright in September. Since last Monday, salvage workers have gradually lifted the 114,500-ton luxury cruise ship from the sea floor, by pumping air into 30 large metal boxes attached to the hull, known as sponsons.
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