End of the Line
Tugboats completed the tow of the Costa Concordia to the port of Genoa, where it will be scrapped, on July 27.
The salvage partnership announced that Costa Crociere CEO Michael Thamm went aboard the Costa Concordia on July 27 when the towed wreck arrived at the port of Genoa, five days after tugboats pulled it away from Giglio Island. The ship ran aground there on Jan. 13, 2012, and capsized, resulting in 32 deaths. Costa Crociere and the Titan Salvage/Micoperi partnership decided to move the ship to Genoa so it can be scrapped.
"I wanted to personally thank Nick Sloane and the whole team for the extraordinary commitment they have always demonstrated throughout the project and wish them good work at the beginning of an important day of complex mooring operations," Thamm said, according to a July 27 news release posted on the partnership's website. It said preliminary operations to move the ship into the port began about 5 a.m. local time.
The captain in command when the cruise ship ran aground, Francesco Schettino, is on trial in Italy, charged with manslaughter, causing a maritime disaster, and abandoning his ship.