On July 14, 2014, the Costa Concordia shipwreck was partially refloated by two meters from the artificial seabed on which it rested and moved approximately 30 meters to the east. Like with the parbuckling, today’s partial refloating happened so slowly that by watching the live streams it was tough to tell if anything was happening at all. Lucky for us though these time-lapses provide some pretty visual evidence that the cruise ship is no longer resting on the shores of Giglio.
With the vessel now floating, over the next few days technicians will secure and maneuver the sponsons into their final positions before the full refloating takes place. The entire refloating phase is expected to last 6 to 7 days. The Costa Concordia is scheduled to be towed to Genoa starting July 21, 2014, where it will be demolished. The tow is expected to take five days. So far, everything is going as planned.
The time-lapse below is cool because you can clearly see all the workboats in action.
Rusting shambles: One of the 13 bars where many of the 3,200 passengers were relaxing as the vessel struck a rock off Isola del Giglio at 9.45pm.
Haunting: The first pictures of the interior of the sunken cruise ship Costa Concordia, which struck a reef off the island of Giglio in January 2012 and capsized, killing 32 people. This seemingly undamaged piano was in an area that remained above water
Going nowhere: Two of the ship's elevators (left), which jammed on the fateful night after the emergency generator failed. Right, a corridor that once thronged with people
Some areas are relatively unscathed because they remained above the waterline after the ship capsized in shallow water. Other rooms have been drained after the ship was righted last year.
The wreck will soon be towed away and broken up for scrap, nearly two-and-a-half years after she ran aground off the Italian island of Gigilo.
The 290-metre liner, which smashed into rocks off the picturesque holiday island in January 2012 with the loss of 32 lives, has for nine months been sitting deep in the water, resting on a specially-constructed platform made of steel girders and thousands of sacks of cement.
In what has become one of the largest salvage operations in history, air was pumped into 30 large metal boxes, attached around the hull of the 114,500 tonne ship. The air forced out the water in the boxes, lifting the vessel off the underwater platform.
Chaos: Smashed crockery and intact wine bottles in a galley which was not submerged
Macabre berth: During the sinking, passengers were told to return to their cabins
Untouched: A buffet spared the damage inflicted on other areas
Showpiece: The huge atrium now resembles a swimming pool
Faded grandeur: A dishevelled lounge area covered in debris
The Costa Concordia operation has become one of the largest salvage operations in history
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