Cruise ship capsizes off the coast of Italy

[TheMightyOdin]

What an eyesore and sad reminder it must be to those who live there. Even worse if you knew someone who had died there.

That is a daunting task they are undertaking. I hope they are successful and I would like to see a documentary about it that he process. 

 

[hockeyfan1]

Finally, success!  The Costa Concordia has been refloated successfully, even though work is not yet complete.  The procedure had to be done carefully and precisely, slowly but surely, as thirty sponsons (metal boxes) were attached to the ship's hull all around.  As the sponsons soon fill with water, compressed air was used to force the water out of the sponsons to right the ship, with the ship's hull resting on a makeshift platform.

Not as simple as it sounds.  Here is the step-by-step method:

To refresh, here is an original photo of the gash to the sunken ship's hull:

Complete (updated) story of the successful salvage operation:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/costa-concordia-refloat-operation-succeeds-in-italy-1.2706040

 

[hockeyfan1]

Francesco Schettino, the captain of the then capsized Costa Concordia cruise ship, has been charged by a panel of judges with  manslaughter and given a 16 year prison term.

The prosecution painted Schettino "a reckless idiot", while Schettino claimed he was "a scapegoat" and that he was "sacrificed for greater economic interests".

The trial was held in an Italian theatre -- Grossetto Theatre -- to accomodate,  and in anticipation of, the many families affected that were to be present in the audience for the final verdict.

For more on this story, go to:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/costa-concordia-captain-francesco-schettino-given-16-years-in-prison/