Costa Concordia

The 2006-built cruise ship Costa Concordia was a Carnival Corporation-owned Concordia-Class passenger liner identified by IMO number 9320544, MMSI number 9320544 (Italy-flagged), and Call Sign IBHD.

The vessel was designed and constructed in Italy by one of the world's largest shipbuilding companies—Fincantieri—at its Sestri Ponente Shipyard (near Genoa).

The ship was operated by Costa Cruises (a Carnival Corporation subsidiary and its second-largest brand by fleet size and annual passenger volume).

Concordia was the first of five Concordia-class ships operated by Costa Crociere, along with sisterships Serena (2007), Pacifica (2009), Favolosa (2011), and Fascinosa (2012), plus Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Splendor (2008).

This large (115,000 GT) and elegantly designed vessel was wrecked off Giglio Island (Italy) on January 13, 2012, due to human error that caused an allision with an underwater rock. Hours later, the ship capsized and was later declared a total loss. In July 2014, the wreck was towed to Genoa for dismantling.

The vessel’s 3.5-year salvage effort became the most expensive and complex maritime recovery operation ever conducted.

This page primarily reviews the salvage operation and the disaster's impact on the shipowner and cruise industry. It includes comparisons and detailed explanations of the vessel’s removal plan and procedures. For the full report, see the CruiseMinus accident report. You can also jump to specific sections: salvage plan, removal operation and procedures, wreckage removal progress, Captain's wiki.

After reading these details, you’ll understand why Costa Concordia’s sinking was called the most "stupidly unique" cruise ship disaster. It happened on Friday, January 13, 2012—off Tuscany’s west coast, near Giglio Island. The tragedy resulted in loss of life and massive financial damages, becoming a major catalyst for reviewing cruise ship safety standards.

Costa Concordia Salvage

Fuel-pumping preparations began on January 26, 2012. Workers from Dutch salvage company SMIT International used a craned barge and began underwater inspections to locate the vessel’s 17 fuel tanks—containing nearly 2 million liters of heavy diesel. The first six tanks (over 50% of the fuel) were prioritized. The operation took four weeks and involved drilling into the tanks, attaching valves, heating the sludge-like oil, and vacuuming it out while displacing it with seawater.

Fuel extraction started on February 11, 2012, and was completed on March 25, 2012. The ship’s location offered some protection from rough seas, as it lay on the coastal side of Giglio Island.

On February 3, 2013, Costa announced that the wreck would be refloated and removed whole, not dismantled onsite. The CEO, Pier Luigi Foschi, stated the wreck was “no longer usable.” The removal effort set a world record as the largest ever maritime salvage.

Seven leading marine salvage firms competed for the contract. The winning bid came from Titan Salvage (USA), partnered with Italian engineering company Micoperi. Procedures included sealing all hull breaches and creating airtight compartments, pumping air for buoyancy, then using cranes and pontoons to straighten and refloat the ship for towing to Genoa.

The estimated salvage cost was initially ~USD 300 million (EUR 225 million), but by September 2013, it had reached EUR 600 million (~USD 800 million).

Salvage Plan – Wreckage Removal Procedures

Concordia’s salvage plan was complex and included the following steps:

1. Anchoring and Stabilization: Four submarine anchor blocks were fixed to the seabed, with 12 retaining turrets and 24 chains to hold the ship during parbuckling.
2. Submarine Supports and Caissons: Eco-friendly grout bags were installed to stabilize the hull. Six platforms were anchored to the granite seabed, and 15 portside re-floating sponsons were welded onto the wreck.
3. Parbuckling: Using hydraulic strand jacks, the ship was carefully rotated upright without deforming the hull.
4. Starboard Caissons: Fifteen more sponsons were installed on the starboard side for the refloating process.
5. Refloating: With the ship resting on the artificial seabed (~30 m deep), water was pumped from the caissons to raise the wreck. Even so, ~18 m remained submerged.
6. Ecosystem Restoration: The seabed was cleaned, and marine flora replanted.
7. Defueling and Caretaking: SMIT Salvage and Tito Neri led defueling with 100 international specialists and 20 vessels. Operations included oil removal, debris clearance, and safety monitoring by Titan and Micoperi teams.

Approximately 500 workers from 18 countries participated at the Giglio site, supported by ~30 marine vessels. Total costs exceeded USD 400 million.

The following YouTube video (Nat Geo documentary) explains all details of the salvage procedures.

Salvage Operations Progress (2013)

• April 5: The largest underwater platform (Platform No. 1) was installed—~1000 tons, supported by 5 pillars, lowered into place by heavy-lift ship Svenja (SAL Heavy Lift).
• April 10: Costa accepted a fine of USD 1.31 million (EUR 1 million), settling all potential criminal charges. While some survivors accepted EUR 11,000 compensation, others pursued higher settlements through civil lawsuits.
• April 15: Hearings began to determine the trial of Captain Schettino and five officers.
• April 17: The first portside sponson (P10) was installed.
• June: A second ~1000-ton platform was installed—5th of the 6 designed for post-uprighting support.
• July 22: Titan-Micoperi and Costa Cruises presented a removal progress report.
• July 23: Five Costa officials and crew were sentenced to 18–34 months. Captain Schettino’s trial was postponed pending additional tests.
• September 17: Parbuckling was completed after a 20-hour operation that began September 16 using 22 hydraulic pumps.
• October 10: "Winterization" efforts began to stabilize the wreck for winter.
• December: Engineers confirmed the wreck would be removed by June 2014.

Alternative Wreckage Removal (Boskalis-Dockwise Vanguard)

Costa explored using Boskalis' semi-submersible lift ship BOKA Vanguard as an alternative to towing. Vanguard could carry up to 110,000 tons and was designed for transporting oil platforms and large vessels.

• DWT: 116,173 tons
• Length: 275 m (902 ft)
• Width: 79 m (259 ft)
• Power: 27 MW (36,208 HP)
• Speed (unloaded): 26 kph / 16 mph
• Speed (loaded): 24 kph / 15 mph
• Crew: 40

Removal process included submerging the Vanguard, positioning the wreck, then refloating it for transport.

The Ship's Final Voyage (Tow to Genoa)

Towing began on July 22, 2014, ending in Genoa on July 27. The wreck was escorted by 14 vessels, led by the tug Blizzard. Two tugs towed from a 700-800 m distance at 2.5 knots (4.6 kph / 3 mph). Onboard were salvage engineers and Greenpeace environmentalists.

In Genoa, the ship was dismantled by the "Ship Recycling Consortium" (Saipem and San Giorgio del Porto Shipyard). Roughly 70% of materials were recycled and sold as scrap. The ownership transfer to Saipem was signed on July 27 at 3:40 pm.

Concordia’s final journey was symbolic—one of the saddest cruise ship images ever. The three-year salvage operation became one of the most significant maritime recoveries. The dismantling was expected to take 22 months, under Italy’s Ministry of Environment supervision.

Was it really an accident, or a high-stakes financial play? Speculation ranges from stock manipulation to corporate opportunism. Regardless, Costa Concordia was a triple disaster—lives lost, reputational damage to the cruise industry, and vast amounts of money spent on recovery. It remains the worst cruise ship accident in modern history—caused, ultimately, by human error.