Google Earth Captured the Costa Concordia Lying on Its Side, Then Slowly Being Raised From the Sea

For more than two years, one of the largest cruise ships ever wrecked sat half-submerged just offshore from the Italian island of Giglio. Historical satellite imagery captured the Costa Concordia first lying almost completely on its side, then surrounded by cranes, platforms and enormous steel tanks as engineers attempted one of the most complicated ship salvage operations ever undertaken. The disaster began on the night of January 13, 2012. Costa Concordia was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew when it sailed unusually close to Giglio Island during a Mediterranean cruise. At about 9:45 p.m., the 950-foot ship struck rocks near an area known as Le Scole. The collision tore a long opening into the port side of the hull below the waterline. Water flooded critical compartments, electrical power was lost, and the enormous ship began listing. The damaged vessel eventually drifted back toward shore and came to rest beside Giglio. It rolled heavily onto its starboard side, leaving large sections of the ship above water while the lower decks rested against the rocky seabed. Thirty-two passengers and crew members died in the disaster. The wreck's location prevented an even worse outcome, but it created an enormous engineering problem. Costa Concordia was too large to simply lift with a conventional floating crane. Leaving it where it was also presented environmental risks and blocked a prominent section of Giglio's coastline. Engineers needed to remove the vessel without allowing its damaged hull to break apart or slide into deeper water. Before attempting to move it, crews removed fuel and oil from the wreck. They then began constructing an artificial underwater platform beside the ship. Satellite imagery from 2012 and 2013 shows the wreck gradually becoming surrounded by salvage equipment. Large steel structures appeared beside the hull, while giant buoyancy tanks called sponsons were attached to the exposed side of the ship. Heavy cables were placed underneath and around the wreck. The most dramatic stage arrived in September 2013. Engineers attempted a procedure called parbuckling, essentially rotating the entire 114,000-ton wreck back upright. The operation began on September 16 and continued for approximately 19 hours. Cables and hydraulic strand jacks initially pulled the ship away from the rocks. As Costa Concordia rotated, water-filled sponsons attached to its upper side acted as giant counterweights. Eventually gravity began helping the ship continue its rotation until it settled upright onto the artificial seabed constructed beneath it. Shortly after 4 a.m. on September 17, officials announced that the operation had succeeded. Costa Concordia had been rotated approximately 65 degrees and was standing upright for the first time in 20 months. The operation also revealed just how badly the hidden side of the ship had been damaged. The starboard hull, which had spent nearly two years pressed against underwater rocks, emerged crushed and distorted. Being upright did not mean the ship had been restored. Costa Concordia would never carry passengers again. Engineers spent months preparing it for the next stage. Additional sponsons were installed on both sides of the hull. Water inside those tanks could be pumped out, providing enough buoyancy to gradually lift the wreck from the underwater platform. In July 2014, nearly two and a half years after the disaster, Costa Concordia finally floated again. Tugboats then pulled the crippled ship away from Giglio Island. Instead of heading to a repair yard, it began its final voyage toward Genoa, where it arrived on July 27, 2014. The ship was there to be dismantled. Workers spent almost three years stripping apart the massive vessel. Upper decks were removed, interior materials were recovered, the salvage sponsons were detached, and what remained of the hull was eventually moved into dry dock. The recycling operation was completed on July 7, 2017. Approximately 90 percent of the ship's material, more than 53,000 tons, was recycled. The dismantling required around one million hours of work. That makes historical satellite imagery of Giglio particularly unusual. Most shipwrecks visible from above remain essentially unchanged until they decay or disappear. Costa Concordia can instead be watched through several completely different stages. First there is a giant cruise ship lying on its side beside the island. Later images show cranes, barges, platforms and sponsons surrounding it. Then the ship suddenly appears upright. Finally, it disappears completely from the coastline. The sequence can easily create the impression that the vessel was being repaired or restored. It was not. Engineers were carefully stabilizing, rotating and refloating an enormous wreck so it could be removed without breaking apart beside Giglio. The spot where Costa Concordia rested is now empty water. For a short period in Google Earth's historical imagery, however, one of the world's largest maritime salvage operations can be watched almost step by step from space.