Costa Concordia wreck towed into Genoa harbour

Eight tugboats help shepherd stricken cruise liner into port on outskirts of Italian city, where it will be broken up.


The rusting hulk of the Costa Concordia was due to arrive at a port on the outskirts of Genoa on Sunday afternoon at the end of a 200-nautical mile journey from the island of Giglio, where it sank more than two and half years ago.


By late morning, Genoa's most powerful tug, the 698-tonne Messico, had taken over the cable attached to the bows of the liner and was dragging the giant, 13-deck vessel towards its final destination. A strong, northerly wind that blow off the Alps at dawn had raised fears of a delay.


But the prefect of Genoa Franco Gabrielli said "the docking of the Costa Concordia will be completed at around 14.00 hours [1pm BST]".


Giovanni Calvelli, a spokesman for the Genoa harbourmaster, said it was "like moving a … lorry with the handbrake on. It needs a lot of power and prudence." He added: "The hulk is without engines and, above all, it is slowed down by the 30 sponsons [air-filled tanks] that make it float, which make it difficult to manoeuvre."


Altogether, eight tugs from Genoa's port were helping guide the liner, which until Sunday morning had been towed by two ocean-going tugs. Fears had been expressed that by bringing the vessel up to Genoa to be broken, the owners were risking an environmental disaster. But Italy's environment minister, Gian Luca Galletti, declared it a success.


With the Italian media giving the final, delicate stages of the operation extensive, and generally jubilant, coverage, Galletti cautioned: "Today is not a celebration. Behind this arrival, there is a tragedy and 33 victims."


Thirty two passengers and crew died in the chaotic evacuation of the liner after it hit a rock off the island on January 13, 2013. A diver at work on the wreck died in February.


Captain Francesco Schettino, who took the Costa Concordia to within a few hundred yards of the shore to give a "salute" on the night of the tragedy, is currently on trial charged with manslaughter, causing a maritime disaster and abandoning his ship. He denies any wrongdoing.


Michael Thamm, the CEO of Costa Cruises, which owns the liner, went aboard the Costa Concordia at dawn to thank the salvage master, Nick Sloane, and others who helped shepherd the vessel on its final voyage. The Costa Concordia is to be broken at a yard in Voltri, 10 miles west of the centre of Genoa.


(The guardian.com)