GIGLIO, Italy, April 12 (Reuters) – The salvage operation to
move the capsized Costa Concordia away from the island of
Giglio, where it ran aground three months ago, will begin next
month, an official said on Thursday.
Civil Protection official Fabrizio Curcio told reporters at
a conference on the island that he expected contracts to be
signed by the end of April and the operation to begin in
mid-May.
Sources close to the operation said two consortia were on
the short list to carry out the salvage work. One was composed
of Smit Salvage of the Netherlands and Italy’s Neri and the
other by Titan Salvage of the United States and Micoperi of
Greece.
The ship, owned by Carnival Corp & Plc ,
capsized off the Tuscan island after hitting rocks on Jan. 13.
At least 30 people died and two are still unaccounted for.
The operation to pump more than 2,300 tonnes of fuel out of
the vessel was completed last month.
