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Cruise Ship "Costa Concordia" Salvage Attempt To Go Ahead
dryriver writes "A daring attempt to pull the shipwrecked Costa Concordia upright will go ahead on Monday, Italian officials have confirmed. The Civil Protection agency said the sea and weather conditions were right for the salvage attempt. Engineers have never tried to move such a huge ship so close to land. Thirty-two people died when the cruise ship hit rocks off the Tuscan island of Giglio in January 2012. It has been lying on its side ever since. Five people have already been convicted of manslaughter over the disaster, and the ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, is currently on trial accused of manslaughter and abandoning ship. The salvage operation is due to begin at 06:00 (04:00 GMT) on Monday, and it is being described as one of the largest and most daunting ever attempted. The head of the operation, Nick Sloane, told AFP news agency that it was now or never for the Costa Concordia, because the hull was gradually weakening and might not survive another winter. Engineers will try to roll the ship up using cables and the weight of water contained in huge metal boxes welded to the ship's sides — a process called parbuckling. This procedure must be done very slowly to prevent further damage to the hull, which has spent more than 18 months partially submerged in 50ft of water and fully exposed to the elements. The salvage project has so far cost more than 600m euros ($800m; £500m) and could cost a lot more by the time the operation is complete."
Another Livestream is here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24104741
Why did the chicken cross the road? Because Elon Musk put an AI chip in its head.
Neither of those were loading for me and/or seemed to be broken. This one works for me...just in case anyone needed more options: http://media.theage.com.au/national/selections/livestream-costa-concordia-salvage-4751321.html
Crazy, crazy amount to spend, right? I wonder if this is an example of "Italian Efficiency"... =) =) =)
Why did the chicken cross the road? Because Elon Musk put an AI chip in its head.
In many cases broadcasting companies are only allowed to let domestic IPs access the stream even though practically every broadcasting company acquires access to the same stream. Here's one for Finland:
http://areena.yle.fi/tv/2032049
and for Sweden:
http://www.svt.se/nyheter/varlden/bargningen-av-costa-concordia-inleds-pa-morgonen
Another here: http://video.repubblica.it/edizione/firenze/concordia-la-diretta-non-stop-del-recupero-dall-isola-del-giglio/139924/138460?ref=HREA-1
Why all this effort to refloat her? As has been pointed out, she's been partially and asymmetrically submerged for the better part of two years, surely it'd be easier to just send in the divers with cutting torches or shaped charges, split the hull, and float her off in sections on barges (as they ended up doing with MSC Napoli)?
Doing that in a marine sanctuary would have a significant environmental impact.
It is suspected that the bodies of 2 more people who are still "missing" may be found somewhere inside the ship when it is refloated. RIP to those who died in this disaster. Nobody goes on a modern cruiseship these days expecting to be "shipwrecked" or "Titanic'd" within the first hours of the cruise..
Why did the chicken cross the road? Because Elon Musk put an AI chip in its head.
Is this a dress rehearsal for RMS Titanic?
I'm curious as to what makes you think it might be.
Is there something aboard Costa Concordia that we shouldn't know about? (yes, I'm thinking of a certain book)
Uh... the Necronomicon?
What's happening right now is a desecration.
Why? We don't leave mangled wrecks of cars by the side of the road. Wouldn't it be a massive hazard to shipping to leave it where it is and let it get slowly chipped to bits by the sea?
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
http://imgur.com/wbgWn
RTFA!
They want to keep the tons of rotting food, fuel, and who knows what else in the ship for environmental reasons. It's also a lot easier and safer to cut up something of that size in drydock.
Why are you speaking up now?
I'm sure the bumbling amateurs who are making it up as they go along could have benefited from your vast knowledge and experience if only you'd bothered to share them earlier.
You're a hoarder, that's what you are.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
this is it exactly.
the only reason why she is getting floated out is because cutting her up as she sits would trash the local environment completely. just sitting as she is is doing enough damage.
i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
It's also a lot easier and safer to cut up something of that size in drydock.
Ships of this size are rarely dismantled in a drydock. Usually they're run up on the beach at Alang or Chittagong and cut apart, mostly by hand. You can actually see these operations in google maps. Check the satellite view of Alang, Gujarat, India, and you'll see dozens of ships in all stages of disassembly.
Wow, way to be a condescending douche. "The autonomous and self-defined individual"? As if there is only one kind of person in the world, "the good kind". Anyone who wants to kick back and relax on vacation...well passive adventures are for pussies, amirite? Jeez modded up to +5, too. How shameful.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
Did you miss all the sex meetup rooms where they sell ethanol-based stress-reducing libations?
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
The only problem in this case is that it will be impossible to tow the refloated ship to India or some other country where they have a liberal view on labour safety. As far as I know, it will be towed to one of the nearby big harbours (Genua, Livorno or Civitavecchia?). I don't know how they will do the actual dismantling there.
karma police: arrest this man, he talks in maths; he buzzes like a fridge, he's like a detuned radio. [radiohead]
Yes, i could've done it for 200 million. I would have used a million or 2 to buy pingpong balls and inject them to the ship to make it float. Then had couple of tug boats to pull it where ever.
Yes, but you can't patent that approach, so who's going to build a ping-pong-ball injection rig?
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
How do you expect the unexpected? By the very definition of these words it would be an oxymoron.
No one expects their ship to wreck, but the ship carries lifeboats anyway. No one expects the captain of their ship to abandon without seeing to the safety of the passengers, but that's what happened, and some of the people who weren't prepared for that eventuality died. You expect the unexpected by expecting something unexpected to happen, and then being prepared to deal with it when it happens. Yeah, nobody wants the job of protecting their own life while on vacation, we go on vacation to get away from considerations like those, but when they turn up you can't just ignore them. That's what the captain of the ship did so long until he panicked and ran away like a rat deserting a sinking ship, which is precisely what he was. But it's also what some of the passengers on the ship did so long that they died.
By definition, we must expect the unexpected. We must expect that we shall have to deal with emerging situations as they develop. Otherwise, when a surprising situation appears, we stand around holding ourselves up.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
I don't know why you used a shortened link, but I hit it despite the possibility it might be goatse. Here's where that link takes you: https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Alang,+Gujarat,+India&hl=en&ll=21.401534,72.199316&spn=0.023614,0.027723&geocode=+&hnear=Alang,+Bhavnagar,+Gujarat,+India&t=h&z=15
Free Martian Whores!
What I got is that there's only two kinds of people in a shipwreck, those who can make decisions for themselves, and those who are at substantial risk of dying while they wait for someone else to make decisions for them. I watched a documentary on the incident and many people were just sitting around waiting for someone to save them.
Actually four kinds of people: those too dumb to leave when they're in actual danger, those smart enough to get out of danger, those smart enough to know they're not in danger and wait for rescue, and those stupid enough to have the mindset "do something, anything, even if it's wrong." HHGTG is right: Don't panic. Nothing is more dangerous than panic.
Whether to wait or act depends on the situation.
Free Martian Whores!
I'm fairly sure the cost of a new ship and the cost of salvage have absolutely nothing to do with each other. It's like saying "Why both removing the tree that fell on my roof? It's cheapest just to plant a new tree!" That's what the Costa Concordia is right now... a tree that fell on the roof. It needs to be chopped up and hauled away for scrap and they're trying to do it without causing more damage to the roof (which is largely the marine environment and tourism in this bad analogy).
The fuel and oil were pumped out ages ago. The reason why they're not cutting it up is the Italian government said no.
I read the internet for the articles.
The area the Costa Concordia is in is a protected area, with fragile species living there. Dismantling it in place would cause damage to the marine life there, not to mention the possibility of pollution. It's far better scrapped in a controlled environment.
Site & blog: http://www.mayaposch.com
how do they get the really large ship i.e. tankers etc that far up the beach. Do they just sail flat out towards the coast and then let the ship plough on until it comes to rest?
Yes: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ship+breaking+beaching
Collisions are an obvious hazard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTDV2BqfOVg
I'm interested in seeing this floating unfold.
But, what I'd really like to know/see here on Slashdot is how exactly they are streaming this event on the web. From the cameras in use to the uplinks, to the media server software, to the CDN, everything. Basically a how-to for efficiently and cost effectively broadcasting a HD stream from a remote location to millions of live viewers.
News for nerds. Stuff that matters.
Seriously? Have you not been reading the new stories on this over the last 2 years?
The issue is the environmental impact of both the fuel (largely removed) and other things like engine oil, coolant and sewage which may still be aboard. The ship came to rest in what is said to be a sensitive environmental area. I suspect that the insurance company would be on the hook for any damage caused by leaking oil, sewage or anything else that might still be in the ship. Also, the ship sits in about 40 feet of water on the very edge of a 200 Foot trench. If slips off, it will be MUCH harder to clean up the mess. Diving in 20-40 feet is much less difficult and time consuming than when you go over 100 feet and have to start thinking about using helium breathing mixes and such.
They are doing the least risky thing they can come up with. Right the ship, partially re-float it and haul it off to be scrapped some place else where it will be easier, safer and/or less likely to be a problem for the environment.
Your suggestion to just chop it up and haul it off in bite sized chunks might indeed be cheaper, but there are a number of issues with that approach.
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
What I don't get about this is what's so horribly wrong with a captain abandoning the ship?
He's supposed to be the one organizing the evacuation efforts. He's the one people are reporting the condition of the ship to. He's in charge of the stupid ship. If he leaves, you have a major organizational change on the ship at the worst possible time. He should not go down with the ship, but he should be one of the last ones off.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
Indeed some of the fatalities were people trying to help others to safely evacuate. Francis Servel died after giving his life vest to his wife, who could not swim. Russel Terence Rebello was a Filipino waiter who stayed onboard to help with the evacuation, but then fell to his death when the list became too severe. Many died inside the ship because they followed the crews' orders to cross the ship as it was capsizing.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
What I don't get about this is what's so horribly wrong with a captain abandoning the ship?
International maritime law prohibits the captain abandoning the ship before evacuating the passengers. Their lives are his responsibility. It's equivalent to a bus driver leaving a bus full of passengers teetering on the edge of a precipice and then just running away without trying to get them out.
In addition, in this case the captain sat around holding his dick and pretending that the ship wasn't sinking for quite some time before he even ran away.
I mean, seriously.... do they expect a captain to just go down with the ship and simply die if something entirely unexpected happens to the ship?
Nothing unexpected happened to the ship. What happened is precisely what you would expect to happen if you drive a ship into an area clearly marked as too shallow and hazardous.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Im not sure how you can miss "condescending" in a statement like
I suppose this type of person is less attractive to lying about in floating cocoons of immaculate white paint. We might choose a less passive adventure.
Is there really anything wrong with the community agreeing that cruises are for the weak and stupid?
Yes. Its the same mindframe that leads to racism: Anyone who doesnt look like / act like / enjoy the same things as me, is inferior to me. Its self-centered pride to the extreme, and its astonishing youd have the nerve to try to defend it.
For less money you could patronize a beachfront resort, which if you look around can belong to the same family that's cooking your food.
Gosh, heres a shocker, maybe someone has done beach vacations for years and wants to be on a boat! Maybe theyre older, retired, and not as able to move as when they were younger, and want a quieter vacation! They must be weak, lazy, and stupid, I guess.
Cruise ships are just another example of conspicuous consumption, and if you want a medal for doing nothing
By your logic, so is going to a beachfront resort. Shopping, lazing about, how wasteful. Im sure youre a blast at parties.
They aren't treated as galley slaves. I've known many people who work in the cruising industry; they work hard, for certain, but many of them are from third world countries, and the amount they make is huge compared to what they would make back home. They have long hours, to be sure, but they also get free food and many of them are able to enjoy the ports of call like all the other passengers. Remember, they signed up for it, and many do it over and over again willingly. That isn't slavery.
You do have a valid point... Although I think Alang is likely not as sensitive environmental area than where the Costa Concordia currently sits.
Even if you argue there is no difference to the environment no mater where it gets scrapped, there IS a large difference in the financial liability for the environmental damage, which is why they are spending millions more than the ship is worth to haul it off in one piece. I would argue though that the environment at Alang is much better suited to scraping operations and less sensitive to the dumping of toxic substances into the environment. But, like in every other thing, follow the money....
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
Provide your basic research when making a point.
If im getting this right, your logic is that "locals" are better than a cruise company.
Except that that resort is probably owned by Sheraton or Hilton, and the money goes to corporate, where it pays down the chain.
At the end of the day, businesses get your money, and at the end of the day your patronage pays an employee who probably lives "locally" (at one of the ports the cruise stops at). You can set all of the arbitrary morality laws you want, it doesnt really excuse the superiority complex that you and epine displayed.
The attitude "Im better than you" might be one of the vilest tendencies of humanity, and you and epine are both celebrating it. Congratulations.
Letting nature take its course can be an ugly business.
Here's one, a sad story:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/12/ss-america-cruise-adrift_n_2663875.html
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/8_-_AmStar_7.JPG
And the Murmansk (lost during tow to a wrecking yard), now being salvaged:
http://www.afgruppen.com/Removal-of-the-wreck-Murmansk/
Yes. But the Costa Concordia does NOT displace 114,000 tons. It only displaces about 55,000 tons. The 114,000 number is its gross tonnage, not its displacement.
Proverbs 21:19
Doing that in a marine sanctuary would have a significant environmental impact.
That's part of it. The other part is that the ship is on the edge of a slope into deeper water. There was real worry that she'd slide down the slope while passengers were still being evacuated. After that, the big worry was that she'd slide down the slope, break up, and leak bunker oil for years, producing a long-term oil spill. The first phase of salvage (by Smit, the Dutch salvage firm) was to drain the fuel tanks and stabilize the hulk. They did that with few problems.
Then it got political. If Smit had been given the contract to finish the job and get rid of the hulk, it would have been cut up and out of there by now. That was their proposal. But there would have been some medium-term damage to the environment in the area.
Hence the rather elaborate plan currently underway. The ship isn't just being pulled upright. That's not enough; it's full of water and wouldn't float. An underwater platform was built to support it, and it's being pulled onto that. Then it gets re-floated and towed away.
This is probably the most elaborate (in the overkill sense) marine salvage operation since the Army Corps of Engineers removed the wreck of the U.S.S. Maine in Havana harbor in 1911. They built an enormous temporary dam around the entire area. Then they pumped out the entire area around the ship. Then they cut up the wreckage and hauled it out. Then they let the water back in and dismantled the dam.
The other thing I forgot to mention is senior citizens... I know my grandfather is not very mobile anymore. I mean, he does pretty well for 89, but he's not good for more than 9 holes of golf :)
He likes cruises. He can alternately nap and eat at sea instead of at home. He gets to meet people who don't live in his little senior living development. He gets to see things like calving glaciers and cities that he has no other realistic means to see. He and my grandmother liked to dress up every night for dinner, just like the old days. One was a smaller ship that would pop up the East Coast. That was fun because we could go meet him for the day when he stopped near us. He doesn't really do them anymore, but for a few years there he was really into them.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
It's off the coast of Italy, you buffoon. The locals siphoned it all off within days.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."