Crowley Maritime subsidiary TITAN Salvage and project partner Micoperi has confirmed the Costa Concordia – the Concordia-class cruise ship that wrecked off Giglio Island, Italy in January 2012 – is safely moored at the Port of Genoa Voltri, Italy, marking the completion of the largest maritime salvage jobs in history.
Towing the disabled ship from the Tuscan Archipelago to the Mediterranean seaport of Genoa was a delicate task that required a convoy of more than a dozen support vessels, including two tugboats with a combined 24,000 horsepower and 275 tons of bollard pull at the bow for the hull, and two additional auxiliary tugs positioned aft.
TITAN Salvage’s Nick Sloane, Senior Salvage Master, and Rich Habib, Salvage Director, were onboard the Costa to provide around-the-clock, hands-on monitoring of the vessel’s list, ballasting, and speed, among other vitals.
“Our team’s goal was to accomplish the project with safety, ingenuity and detail,” said Chris Peterson, TITAN Salvage Vice President. “We truly believe that we have done just that. Over the past two years, every aspect of this project was handled with the utmost professionalism and an inordinate amount of calculation and planning.”
TITAN Salvage will continue working in Italy over the next few months demobilising equipment and personnel. As for the Costa, a Genoa consortium will soon begin dismantling the 114,000-ton vessel, stripping the ship for scrap metal and recyclable materials.
