Titan-Micoperi Presents Plan to Raise Costa Concordia

Representatives of Titan-Micoperi presented their plans to raise the Costa Concordia from where she sank after running aground off the island of Gilgio last January.  Titan-Micoperi is the consortium of Titan Salvage, the Crowley-owned specialist marine salvage company, and Italian marine contractor Micoperi, which … Continue reading

Costa Concordia Update: Titan Salvage Awarded Contract, More Bodies Identified, Tourism Suffers

In February, Costa Lines invited ten companies to bid on salvaging the Costa Concordia (see our previous post.)   Today, the salvage contract was awarded to Titan Salvage and Micoperi.  Titan Salvage is a unit of Crowley Maritime Corporation and Micoperi is a Italian marine … Continue reading

Update: MS Carnival Triumph Allowed to Sail from Galveston, TX in Costa Concordia Lawsuit

Update:  The MS Carnival Triumph was allowed to sail as scheduled following last minute negotiations. The 2,758-passenger cruise ship MS Carnival Triumph was supposed to sail today for a five-day cruise to Yucatan and Cozumel. Instead, a Texas judge has ordered the ship … Continue reading

The Costa Concordia’s “Black Box” – A Look at Voyage Data Recorders

What really happened on the Costa Concordia in the final hours leading up to and following her grounding and sinking off Giglio on January 13, 2012?  The first step in definitively answering that question began in early March when an Italian judge … Continue reading

Costa Concordia Updates – Ship’s Bell Missing, Salvage Estimate More than 100 Million Euros

The ship’s bell on the Costa Concordia has gone missing.  According to Reuters, “underwater thieves have evaded an array of laser systems that measure millimetric shifts in the Costa Concordia shipwreck and 24-hour surveillance by the Italian coast guard and … Continue reading

Costa Concordia Pre-Trial Hearings Begin – Has Anything Changed in Cruise Operations?

In a hearing today in the Tuscan city of Grosseto, Italian Judge Valeria Montesarchio will ask court appointed experts to examine the “black box,” which contains digital recordings of the night of the grounding and sinking of the Costa Concordia off … Continue reading

Costa Allegra: Not A Sister Ship – the Unusual Transformation from Container Ship to Cruise Ship

The headlines from several media sources (see here or here) have referred to the Costa Allegra, the cruise ship adrift in the Indian Ocean after an engine room fire, as a sister ship to the Costa Concordia.  A sister ship is generally defined as a “a ship of the … Continue reading

Cruise Ship Costa Allegra Adrift off Seychelles After Fire

Sixteen months after the Carnival Splendor was blacked out by an engine room fire in the Pacific off the coast of Mexico, another Carnival owned cruise ship is drifting, dead in the water, after an engine room fire.  The Costa Allegra, a cruise ship … Continue reading

ROV Video – Costa Concordia Perched Perilously on Rocks, Bow & Stern

Video shot by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), roughly a month after the ship ran aground, shows that the Costa Concordia is not sitting evenly on the bottom.  Instead, the 950′ long ship is perched perilously on two rocky outcroppings at the bow … Continue reading

Oil on the Water – Barge Spill on the Mississippi, Progress on the Concordia and Chances Missed on the Rena

Three stories this weekend of oil spills, a successful oil transfer and opportunities lost in mitigating a spill.  Two barges collided on the Mississippi River on Friday upriver from New Orleans.  A roughly 3,500 barrel capacity double hulled tank barge suffered damage … Continue reading

Costa Concordia – Salvage Going Too Slowly, or Too Quickly?

Costa Lines has asked ten companies to bid on salvaging the Costa Concordia. The bids are due early next month and Costa has plans to award a contract by the end of March. Smit Salvage, Svitzer Salvage, Mammoet Salvage, Titan … Continue reading

Costa Concordia Update: Search for Missing in Flooded Ship Ends, Salvage Could Take a Year, Cost Could Reach a Billion

The search for the missing in the submerged portions of the Costa Concordia has ended due to concerns for the safety of the rescue workers.  The estimated toll from the sinking stands at 33 dead or missing.  The bodies of … Continue reading

Carnival’s Micki Arinson Faces the Heat, More or Less & American Express Costa Concordia Offer

Carnival’s CEO & Chairman, Micki Arinson has been criticized for maintaining a low profile following the sinking of the Costa Concordia where over 30 passengers and crew are dead or missing.  Last Friday, he made what was believed to be his … Continue reading

Costa Concordia Update – 17th Body Found, Fuel Pumping Delayed & Salvors Line Up to Bid

The body of a woman, believed to be a member of the crew, has been found in the wreck of the Costa Concordia, bringing the body count to 17. An additional 15 are missing and presumed dead. The Dutch salvor Smit has … Continue reading

Costa Concordia – The Legal Battle Begins, Lawsuits Filed, Settlement Offered

Micky Arison, the chairman, chief executive and part owner of Carnival Corp. has been keeping a very low profile since the grounding and sinking of the Costa Concordia two weeks ago.  He has stayed in Miami and let Pier Luigi … Continue reading

Update: Costa Concordia – Fuel Removal Begins, Video of Staff Emerges & Body Count Rises

Crews from the Dutch salvage company SMIT are setting up to begin pumping 2,300 tonnes of diesel fuel from the sunken cruise ship Costa Concordia.  A crane barge and temporary tanks have been moved alongside the stricken ship. Pumping is expected to begin … Continue reading

Costa Concordia – the Inchino, Costa Management & the Web

The dangerous practice of the “inchino,” Italian for “bow” and often translated as “salute,”  appears to be widespread and not limited to Costa.  The “inchino” is performed by sailing a ship close to an island or port and blowing the ship’s horn, figuratively bowing … Continue reading