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ROME (Reuters) - Salvage crews will employ huge cranes and air tanks torefloat the half-submerged Costa Concordia cruise liner in thelargest ever operation of its kind, according to a plan unveiled onFriday. Estimated to cost at least $300 million, the work is expected tobegin within a few days and last about a year, said the ship'soperator Costa Cruises, owned by Carnival Corp & Plc. The 290-metre-long (11,417 feet) cruise liner capsized off theTuscan island of Giglio after hitting rocks on January 13. At least30 people died and two are still unaccounted for. Its captain Francesco Schettino has been accused of wrecking theship after he brought it too close to shore and faces charges ofmultiple manslaughter and abandoning ship before all 4,200passengers and crew were rescued. Representatives of Titan Salvage of the United States and Italianfirm Micoperi, who have been chosen to handle the removal, told anews conference they were confident the plans would succeed eventhough they have never been tested on a ship this size. "This will be the largest refloat in history but we think it'sentirely possible," said Richard Habib, president of Titan Salvage,owned by U.S. group Crowley Maritime Corp. The head of Italy's Civil Protection Agency, Franco Gabrielli, saidthe ship would be stabilized by the end of August to prevent itfrom shifting down a rocky ledge and plunging into the deep watersof the surrounding marine reserve. Two cranes attached to a underwater platform beside the 114,5000metric ton vessel will pull it upright, along with big water-filledtanks that will be fitted on the part above water. Once upright, tanks will be fitted to the other side of the hulland then all the tanks will be emptied and filled with air torefloat the huge liner. Micoperi manager Silvio Bartolotti said the ship would be refloatedby February 2013. It will then be towed to an Italian port and broken up. The port ofLivorno may be chosen in order to compensate the Tuscany region bycreating jobs, regional president Enrico Rossi said. Some 2,300 metric ton of fuel were removed in March, averting anenvironmental disaster. Costa Cruises president Gianni Onorato said protection of theenvironment during the salvage operation and guarantees for thelocal tourist industry would be key priorities. Once the ship is towed away, the seabed will be cleaned of debrisand work will be undertaken to restore marine flora. (Reporting By Catherine Hornby; Editing by Sophie Hares). I am an expert from vapore-cig.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Kanger E-Cig , China E-Cig Accessories, Kanger E-Cig,and more.
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