Synopsis

The undertaking to secure, refloat, and salvage the Costa Concordia cruise ship, which struck a reef and capsized off the coast of Italy on January 13, 2012, resulting in the loss of 32 lives, was a monumental operation. The immense wreck—a 160-foot gash cleaving its hull—extends the length of three football fields, weighs 45,000 tons, and rested precariously, half submerged, on a protected reef. Its removal from this perilous position at the cliff's edge presented a technical and logistical cha