Q: What’s the latest on the Costa Concordia? Did they recover all the missing? Have they unloaded all the oil and diesel fuel? Will it be refloated or salvaged?
—Dave Kraft, Marietta
A: Titan Salvage, which won the contract to remove the Costa Concordia's wreckage, plans to raise the submerged part of the ship and tow it for demolition. An official with Titan Salvage, which is based in Pompano Beach, Fla., told the media at a news conference in Rome on May 18 that the goal is to " 'use brains, (and) not as much brawn' to remove the Costa Concordia without having it slip into much deeper water." He said the largest obstacle to overcome is to "roll the vessel upright on a platform and to safely float" it to an Italian port that hasn't been selected. "The magnitude of the job ... is something unprecedented," said Capt. Richard Habib, Titan Salvage's managing director, according to The Associated Press. Officials want to have the ship upright by the winter and to begin towing in 2013, but holes will have to be repaired to make sure it can float, the AP reported. About 4,200 people were on board the Costa Concordia when it struck a reef off the Italian coast on Jan. 13. Thirty-two people were killed and all but two of the bodies have been recovered. Smit Salvage, a Dutch company, reported in March that it had removed all of the fuel from the ship.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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