Cruise Ship Costa Concordia - MERGED THREADS

[rgscpat]

(1) I can't imagine building a cofferdam on a steep underwater slope, (2) don't think beaching would have been easy on a rocky, steep coast with minimal control or power, and (3) wonder whether it was wind and current that grounded the CC rather than any action by the captain or crew.

[hellosailor]

Dave, even in the EU they hire migrant labor and curse at them. Yes, there will be environmental considerations so they can't just leave a pile of chips and oil on the rocks. That can be contained. Dealt with. Pickle it, paint it, bond it, fill it, wrap it, they'll find their ways. And I'll bet it still comes down to roughnecks with torches, sitting on their duffs or hanging in straps, breaking it down into bite-sized pieces that will be hauled off on barges with conventional cranes.

Unless some clever local vendor sets up a forge on the shore and starts smelting it down into souvenir castings. You know, like those little Eiffel Tower castings you can buy in Paris? Leaning Tower, Colliseum, Empire State...Souvenir keyrings for the Costa/Carnival stockholders?

This *will* be done at the lowest possible cost. Specialized equipment and experimental methods don't happen in that equation.

Heck, so far we've even been given the suggestion that the Captain was so cheap he didn't keep an extra $5 pair of reading glasses on the bridge.

[goboatingnow]

I think you'll find every environmental agency in the EU will be all over this salvage. The waters round that island are some of the finest in the med. coupled with a pile of very influential NGOs like Greenpeace looking over everyone's shoulder.

This will be a high tech costly salvage theres no doubt about that. Of else the EU will fine the whole of Carnival Cruises out of business. This is such a high profile case. The salvage will probably cost more than the ship. You only have to see the SMIT operation to remove fluids to see what's involved. The ship will have to be removed with minimal damage to the surrounding ecosystem.

As to the Captain, don't believe what you read in the newspapers. It will be interesting to see what comes out. I believe Costa are far far more culpable then it first appears and I suspect the whole thing was pre-sanctioned and they directed the process after the collision. carnival and Costa is known to be quite controlling of its ships captains.

Dave

[MacG]

I am afraid that Dave hits the nail on the very head. I share his feelings according to the involvement of the management of Costa. In order to save their very skins.
They lost already a couple of valuable clients, who turned their business to other cruiseliners. Carnival definitely is strong enough to take their losses, but a fact is that the whole issue could have avoided when using just the brains one is equipped with.

[SabreKai]

What ever they do they better get their tails in gear. According to latest reports, they have about half to 2/3rds of the fuel out, the ship is lightening and is now sliding down slope at a rate of about 2cm an hour. If they are going to start cutting her up, removing top weight, I can see that rate increasing.

Which leads to an interesting engineering problem. How do you keep 115,000 tons for garbage from sliding down hill?

[MacG]

That will be some time from now. The zilch civil servants that want to have a finger in the porridge are legion, divided over all those environmental/local/provincial agencies.
This whole concerto in F minor will obstacle the whole removing process and I wager a bottle of Dom Perignon that the boat - if not already swallowed by the sea - will be still there next year.

[sy_gilana]

I Suspect, they will anchor the ship fore and aft to the rocks. Then they will weld up the holes. Next they will start pumping and righting with airbags. Onc stability is found, they will tow her away. My money is on SMIT getting the deal, or a joint venture with them and others. If anyone is in Spain, The TDT channel DiscoveryMAX is airing a documentary this Wednesday at 22h30 local.

[St. Elsewhere]

One salvage proposal would re-float it, the rest apparently would cut it up in place . . . .

Name: COSTA CONCORDIA Costa Concordia - Type of ship: Passenger ship - Callsign: IBHD - vesseltracker.com
IMO: 9320544
Time: 15-03-2012 09:20:35 UTC

NEWS:
The Dutch dredging and maritime services company Boskalis on Mar 15 has made a bid to refloat the "Costa Concordia" which could cost more than 100 million Euro according to the Boskalis’ chief executive. Other salvaging firms had offered to cut up the ship, which was a cheaper option but he had not looked how much that would be.

[David M]

Originally Posted by SabreKai

What ever they do they better get their tails in gear. According to latest reports, they have about half to 2/3rds of the fuel out, the ship is lightening and is now sliding down slope at a rate of about 2cm an hour. If they are going to start cutting her up, removing top weight, I can see that rate increasing.

Which leads to an interesting engineering problem. How do you keep 115,000 tons for garbage from sliding down hill?

I would imagine you could run cables from the ship to the shoreline. Mooring points for the cable could be bored into the rock.

[SabreKai]

BTW, some time over the last couple of weeks someone nicked the ships bell.


Thieves evade lasers to nab shipwreck's bell | World | News | Toronto Sun

[xymotic]

Originally Posted by SabreKai

BTW, some time over the last couple of weeks someone nicked the ships bell.


Thieves evade lasers to nab shipwreck's bell | World | News | Toronto Sun

So I have a question: Is that even illegal?

I know they've cordoned off the area, so the perpetrators would be guilty of trespass (or something)

But this is not a protected grave site (yet) , and just as general practice you can 'salvage' anything you can off a sunken vessel, can't you?

[justwaiting]

Originally Posted by xymotic

So I have a question: Is that even illegal?

I know they've cordoned off the area, so the perpetrators would be guilty of trespass (or something)

But this is not a protected grave site (yet) , and just as general practice you can 'salvage' anything you can off a sunken vessel, can't you?

Simple answer , yes it is illegal for lots of reasons
Entering a restricted area
Trespass on the ship
Interfering with a crime scene (investigations continue)
Theft - the ship and all still belonds to some one (insurance company)
And thats just for a start

[CarinaPDX]

Originally Posted by xymotic

you can 'salvage' anything you can off a sunken vessel, can't you?

YIKES!!! No you can't. That is not salvage, it is theft, pure and simple. "Salvage" is where one acts to preserve value for the owners; by salvaging a ship or cargo the salvor has a right to compensation for his efforts on the owner's behalf. The stealing of the bell is a crime, among other things. Sunken ships always have owners.

[JoeDiver]

Originally Posted by CarinaPDX

YIKES!!! Sunken ships always have owners.

And as one unfortunate company recently found out, so does very old Spanish gold!

[SabreKai]

I find that case to be very interesting. Apparently one of the Central American Countries sent a deputation to the hearing on who owns the gold. They claimed that it belong to them as it was their country that was invaded, their people who were stolen from, and their people forced to mine it for the Spaniards. They were denied.

Go figure.