The first day is almost over. The longest and most critical phase of Operation Concordia went well. Work to right the ship began at nine o'clock this morning; the start of operations for the rotation of the Costa Concordia was postponed by three hours due to the storm that hit the island of Giglio tonight. “We thought it would take 12 hours, but even if you need 15 or 18, the goal is to do well. We don't feel late, we're happy with how things are going”, said the manager of the Concordia removal project for Costa Cruises, Franco Porcellacchia, speaking of the rotation operation. "The weather and the dark don't worry us," added the technicians.
After the first three hours of operation the ship listed in order to make visible the signs left by the sea and also to detect a "significant deformation" of the side, said the head of the Civil Protection Franco Gabrielli. “At the moment, nothing polluting or impactful has ended up in the sea,” he said. “But we are only at the beginning – he added – while we expect spills in the sea for the next few hours. The important thing is to be ready, as we are, to reclaim the areas”.
Rotation exceeded ten degrees. The operation, known as parbuckling, has so far made it possible to raise the ship by a couple of metres. The surfaced part is clearly distinguished from the one that was already outside by the fact that it is rusty. An attempt is also made to recover the two missing bodies of Maria Grazia Trecarichi and Russel Rebello, who died during the shipwreck.
During the Concordia rotation operation, gas may be released products from the decomposition of organic materials but at the moment the limits for emissions into the atmosphere have not been exceeded. "The emission of H2s, i.e. gases produced by the decomposition of organic material, is a possibility - said the project manager of Micoperi, Sergio Girotto - In any case, we have a constant control of emissions into the atmosphere from which, at the moment , there is no evidence of exceeding the limits". The Minister of the Environment, Andrea Orlando, believes that "there are all the conditions" for a possible request for compensation by the government for the environmental damage caused by the shipwreck.
