KSB Valves Used in Costa Concordia Salvage
Costa Concordia with the sponsons attached to her port-side hull. (© KSB Italia S.p.A.)
KSB ISORIA butterfly valve at the floor of one of the sponsons that were attached to the ship’s port-side hull and flooded. (© KSB Italia S.p.A.)
Over three hundred ISORIA pneumatically actuated butterfly valves have been supplied by the KSB Group for use in the salvaging of the cruise ship Costa Concordia, which capsized off Giglio Island on January 13, 2012.
The role of the 328 valves is to fill and vent tanks located in the sponsons (giant steel boxes), the first 15 of which were welded to the port-side hull to act as ballasting bodies when righting the wreck. At a later stage, these sponsons, together with another 15 to be installed on the star-board side of the cruise ship, will be flooded and used to stabilize the wreck.
Prior to being used in the recovery, the ISORIA pneumatically actuated butterfly valves were subjected to special pressure tests at the Italian KSB plant in Concorezzo. There, KSB Italia’s technicians simulated an ambient pressure corresponding to a water depth of 40 meters. The valves’ actuators are designed to ensure that a pre-set fail-safe position is adopted in the event of insufficient compressed air supply. If the actuators cannot be controlled due to a power supply failure, it is also possible for divers to operate them manually. As soon as the 50-meter crack in the ship’s side has been sealed, the sponsons will be filled with air to get the vessel up and floating again.
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