More time and money will be needed to safely remove the Costa Concordia cruise ship from the rocks off Tuscany where it capsized last year, Italian officials said.
On the eve of the first anniversary of the grounding, officials today stressed the unprecedented nature of the removal given the massive size of the ship - 112,000 tons - its precarious perch on the rocks off Giglio island’s port and the delicate marine environment they are trying to preserve.
Maria Sargentini, president of the environmental oversight group for the Concordia, said there is still some risk of pollution when the ship is righted, even though some 2,000 tons of fuel were already pumped out.
Sewage and tons of rotten food remain on board the ship and could leak.
Thirty-two people were killed in the disaster.
The ship’s captain Franceso Schettino and at least eight other people, including ship’s officers and officials from the Costa Crociere company, are expected to be indicted for multiple manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and premature abandoning of a ship. No date has yet been fixed for the trial.
Agencies