Slashdot Mirror
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
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
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.
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).
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.
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.