Costa Concordia righted

The cruise liner Costa Concordia, which sank on 13 January 2012 off the coast of Isola del Giglio in Italy, has been lifted into an upright position.

The main contractor to salvage the wreck of the Costa Concordia was Titan-Micoperi, a US and Italian partnership. For the removal project the ship was first turned upright and made to refloat using external caissons, a company spokesperson said.

The ship is 290 metres long, has a 35.5 m beam and weighs more than 45,000 tonnes.

Part of the project, including the removal of 2,380 tonnes of fuel on board the ship, was undertaken by Trevi Group, which specialises in underground and foundation engineering.

Other tasks performed by the company included stabilising the ship with anchors. To complete this job anchors weighing more than 30 tonnes were secured between the liner and shore.

The project had to be undertaken without damaging the marine wildlife.