Costa Crociere said this morning they have chosen the plan submitted by the partnership between Titan Salvage and Micoperi to remove the wreckage of Costa Concordia from the island of Giglio.
Titan Salvage is an American-owned specialist marine salvage and wreck removal, and Italian-owned Micoperi is a specialist in underwater construction and engineering.
The Titan/Micoperi plan was chosen from among six submitted. It will refloat Costa Concordia in one piece and tow it to an Italian port and then deal with it in accordance with the requirements the Italian authorities will set forth.
Part of the plan deals not only with safeguarding and restoring the environment, but also minimizing the impact on Giglio's economy during their peak summer tourism season, as well as doing the work as safely as possible.
Fuel removal from the ship was completed on March 24, and caretaking operations are underway and will continue until the Titan/Micoperi work begins. Those include removing from the seabed the debris caused by the incident. The work by Titan/Micoperi is expected to begin in early May after final approval is received from the Italian authorities. More information on the process will be available at that time. The removal is expected to take approximately one year from the time work begins.
