Costa Concordia

The Costa Concordia was a cruise ship who was ordered by the Costa Crociere in 2004, she was 290 meters long and had 17 decks! She was launched in 2005 and had her first voyage in 2006. She carried 3,600 passengers and 1000 crew members, she was also a very luxurious cruise ship in the Concordia line.

Concordia docked in Greece (click here for picture)

((FUN FACT!))

The ship was launched by a champagne bottle, and the champagne bottle ((released by a famous model)) swung into the hull of the ship, but it didn’t break, and according to ship lore that gives the ship bad luck until it’s sunk, demolished or abandoned.

The Costa Concordia’s sister ship Costa Pacifica docked (Click here for the picture)

Here the first problem happens

The Costa Concordia was docked in November 2008 when high winds blew her bow so hard into the dock, that the bow suffered damage and had to be repaired, it was only done with repairs in 2011 many years after the damage was discovered

Here is the bow damage in 2008/09 (Picture is here)

111 years ago – 11 years ago

On the 13th of January in 2012 about 99 years and 4 months after the Titanic Sank, a new Major sinking would happen just outside Isola del Giglio which was an island northwest of Rome. The plan for the Concordia was a Little drive by of the island Isola del Giglio. The lighthouses was on in the area BUT there was a Big rock under the water that usually the lodesman would steer away from, but the driveby was planned just that evening and that mistake would sink her later that day. At 21.43 She hits the rock, giving her an 8 meter wide hole in her port side making her take on tons of water and giving her a list.

Here we see her during the evacuation (Picture from The Independent)

The ship was so close to the Island that if you are a professional swimmer you could swim from the ship and to the Dock which is just insane, but still they had to be evacuated on lifeboats, as it would be very dangerous to jump from the ship , as the water was cold and it was harder to get on a lifeboat as people were rushing to the lifeboats filling them up fast, this was also a good thing as they had to be filled ast before the ship had listed so much you couldn’t launch lifeboats.

Here we see how the ship sunk (Photo)

The ship has listed alot to the starboard side, and the captain Francesco Schettino had left the ship with many hundreds of people on board with no lifeboats to go to. The ship hits the shallow water with her starboard side and the sinking stops the rescue operation for the people on board would begin.

Firefighters being transported onto the ship (Photo)

The rescue operation is now over, and the italian Coast guard report that 33 died in the sinking, 27 passengers 5 crew members and 1 firefighter. It was a tragic sinking and many lost their families on a cruise meant to be fun. Francesco Schettino the captain was sent to jail for manslaughter where he still sits today

Lifeboats docked at the Isola del Giglio, with the Concordia in the back (photo)

Salvage mission

In the years between 2012-2014, the Costa Concordia was still just laying outside the island with locals having to walk past it everyday, and soon the plan for a salvage mission began. Scuba divers would hook up pipes to boats with large tanks on the surface, extracting all oil and fuel from the ship, making her safe for the reef she lays on, not damaging the wildlife’s living space and the fishing industry. The plan after was that she was to be raised then towed to a port to be dismembered.

I couldn’t find a description of the salvage so I took this picture from Wikipedia’s website to show you (photo)

The plan was shot into action and big water ballast tanks seen as those square things, was pulled to the site with two tanks being placed on the side above the water. They would also secure the wreck with steel platforms, steel wires, steel rods etc, allowing the ship to stay in place and not slide down the reef. The ballast tanks were mounted and filled with many 100 tons of water pulling the ship’s port side up, leaning her slightly into the water. Then two more ballast tanks would be fastened to the other side, Then the ballast tanks that already had water inside would be filled completely righting the ship up, then the other ballast’s would also be filled keeping her upright. Now the final stage empty the tanks completely.

The side that was on the reef bed without ballast tanks (photo)

The Costa Concordia floating for the last time (photo)

The last voyage

The ship was towed to Genova the 14th of July 2014, where she was docked and scrapped. The scrapping was finished In 2017, and her legacy will be with many people.

Costa concordia docked in Genova (photo)

Thanks for reading!