Work to demolish the wreckage of
the Costa Concordia crusie liner that partially sunk after
hitting rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio in January 2012
will get underway within 10 days, the president of Cantieri
Mariotti, one of the Genoese shipyards involved in the
operation, said Thursday.
The initial phase of demolition will see the wreck stripped
of its furnishings to reduce the draught from 18 to 15 metres.
Thereafter the 114,500-tonne liner will be transferred from
its current berth on a specially constructed wharf to the
shipyard proper to be broken down for scrap.
"I think the ship can be lightened and moved to the
shipyard within the first few months of next year," said
Cantieri Mariotti President Marco Bisagno.
The wreckage of the Costa Concordia arrived in Genoa after
being refloated in July.
The reloating followed a successful parbuckling operation
last autumn to set the ship upright after the maritime disaster
that killed 32 people left it lying on its side.
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