Fincantieri awarded contract to build caissons for 'Costa Concordia' salvage operation
As part of the salvage plan to remove the wreck of the Costa Concordia, to be carried out by the Italo-American Titan-Micoperi consortium appointed by Costa Crociere, Fincantieri has been awarded a contract worth tens of millions of euros for the building of the watertight boxes, known as caissons, to be used in the operation to refloat the ship.
A total of 30 steel caissons, with combined weight of approximately 11,500 tonnes, will be built in different Fincantieri shipyards. The Costa Concordia salvage plan entails the use of these caissons in order to right and refloat the wreck so that it can be removed in one piece. A system of hydraulic 'strand-jacks' fixed to an underwater platform will be used in conjunction with the caissons to right the vessel.
On Giglio Island preliminary work to prepare the wreck for salvage is proceeding on schedule; this includes removal of some external parts of the ship (OVI SAT antenna, forward masthead light, water slide) in order to facilitate the next stage of the plan