Costa Concordia Pulled Upright Off Coast Of Italy

The Costa Concordia cruise ship was pulled into an upright position via a 19-hour effort that culminated on Tuesday morning.

After the Costa Concordia capsized off the coast of Tuscany on Jan. 13, 2012, officals were uncertain how the vessel could be righted. But on Sept. 17, 2013, the feat was finally accomplished. “We completed the parbuckling operation a few minutes ago the way we thought it would happen and the way we hoped it would happen," said Franco Porcellacchia, project manager for the Concordia's owner, Costa Crociere SpA, according to The Guardian. "A perfect operation, I must say."

Parbbuckling, the task of rotating capsized ships to their upright position, is a relatively common and standard practice used under such circumstances. However, until the Concordia, such a task had not been accomplished on a ship of such size. Using cables attached to hydraulic pumps, the crew was able to pull the ship up and onto a platform of cement bags piled upon an underwater steel structure.

The next mission concerning the badly damaged cruise liner is floating it safely to an Italian shipping yard to be broken down for scraps. It’s anticipated that the ship will be ready for the transport in the spring.

Last January, the Costa Concordia smashed into a reef off Italy’s Giglio Island when the ship’s captain steered it too close to the shore. In the wreck, the liner sustained a 50-meter long hole in its hull and ultimately capsized. Thirty-two people were killed in the accident and two bodies were never located.

– Chelsea Regan

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