At the periodic meeting of the Observatory with the Giglio community, president Maria Sargentini, accompanied by Costa Crociere managers, Rome La Sapienza University researchers and Titan/Micoperi Consortium experts, updated the local population on recovery operations and described the progress being made on the characterisation of water inside the wreck.

During the meeting, it was announced that the first sub-sea platform has already been installed and that the positioning of the second will be completed tomorrow.

All the activities planned are proceeding without respite: the remaining sea bottom platforms have been completed at the yards of Rosetti and Cimolai, ready for transportation to Giglio and installation; 35% of the special cement mattresses have been positioned and filled, while the first 15 flotation caissons produced by Fincantieri are ready and will soon reach the Consortium’s logistics base. In parallel, onshore work is almost complete to position the remaining 8 retention system anchor blocks.

The first characterisation of the water inside the wreck began last November, following the completion of tests by ARPAT, with the aim of obtaining detailed information for characterisation purposes. So far none of the tests performed by ARPAT has revealed any clear alterations of the water outside the wreck, which continues to be be particularly clean, as is the case all around Giglio.

So far as concerns activities to manage the water inside the wreck, the strategy to implement the Plan was discussed, as were the results of the first cycle of samples of water inside the wreck, with a total of 62 samples taken near the portions of the hull held to be most critical and representative. 82 parameters have been taken into consideration, involving a total of over 5 thousand tests. The alterations found, caused by the degradation of food, furnishings and systems, as well as by the presence of hydrocarbons, are concentrated in a few specific compartments in the wreck.

In consideration of the limited water flow between the inside and outside of the wreck, the situation does not raise any particular worries for the marine environment and makes the planning of counter measures possible. The Observatory confirms the need to continue constant monitoring operations, also involving further sampling cycles. By the end of February, a simulation model will be ready to predict the diffusion dynamics of the water released during the rotation phase, in order to assess possible action to manage and minimise any potential negative impact on the marine environment.

Press Release, February 22, 2013