Following the Italian Cabinet’s decision today to authorize towing of the Concordia wreck to Genoa for dismantling and recycling, Costa Crociere has issued the following statement.

“The Cabinet’s approval of the project for transportation of the Concordia to Genoa for dismantling and recycling means that achievement of the goal we set ourselves 2½ years ago – namely the safe and definitive removal of the wreck from Giglio Island – is now well within sight,” said Costa Crociere CEO Michael Thamm.

“We are now just two weeks away from refloating of the ship. We wiIl supervise the final phase of the Concordia project with the same commitment and attention that we have put into this challenge since the very beginning, using the best expertise and technologies, in compliance with the highest environmental safety standards, and in full cooperation with the authorities”.

With the green light for the towage of the Concordia wreck to Genoa, the 350-plus Titan Micoperi technicians working 24/7 at Giglio Island can now rapidly complete the preparatory operations for refloating.  Currently only 2 more sponsons are still to be installed to reach the total of 30 needed to refloat the wreck. Refloating is scheduled to start by the middle of July upon authorization of the Monitoring Observatory, and the definitive departure from Giglio Island is planned by the end of the month.

“The Concordia’s last voyage will be provided by Titan Micoperi, the consortium commissioned to carry out the salvage operation on Giglio Island” Thamm explained. “Once the ship is in Genoa, we will be able to count on the cutting-edge technical and management skills of the consortium formed by Saipem, dealing with the environmental aspects of the Concordia dismantling operations, and San Giorgio del Porto, the first shipyard in Italy to be included in the Special Register of Environmental Ship Reclamation & Recycling Facilities, which has many decades of experience in ship repairs and refitting. The technical and financial solidity of Saipem/SGdP represents an important guarantee for the project.”