Nearly two and a half years have passed since disaster stuck the Costa Concordia luxury liner, which claimed the lives of 32 people.
The final stages of history’s biggest salvage operation started earlier last week, were the Concordia started the resurfacing stage.
Due to the strong winds though, plans to tow the liner yesterday morning had to be postponed. During a press conference, it was confirmed that now the Costa Concordia will be towed from the Island of Giglio to the port of Genoa, early Tuesday morning. Weather experts have confirmed that wind and sea conditions are favourable, and the liner should arrive at its final destination this Saturday.
The Costa Condcordia will be accompanied by a 14-ship fleet, which carry the salvage teams, and pollution response teams, who are their to oversee that no damage is being made to the environment. Two tug boats will be pulling the Concordia at 2.5 Knots, using 70mm thick chains, from a distance of 700 meters.
Due to the possibility of fuel, oil, or sulphuric acid leaks, the salvage teams are worried or a spill mid-trip. There are also fears that environmental groups might halt the salvage operations on Tuesday, by staging a last minute protest at sea.