Raising the Costa Concordia

Raising the Costa Concordia

Twenty months after it ran aground off the shores of Italy, the Costa Concordia cruise ship has been lifted from its watery grave.  In what’s been called an unprecedented salvage effort, the 13 deck, 114,137 gross ton vessel was lifted from its capsized position onto its keel.

In the coming weeks officials will inspect the ship, assessing all of its damage and weaknesses before its towed away to be destroyed. As of today the Costa Concordia salvage project has cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $800M. Experts expect the costs to balloon even further before everything is said and done.

Image Courtesy of AFP