Ship Graveyard

More HERE from CNN.

UFO or Shipwreck

Toni McGee Causey Photo: On the Mississippi

Old Tug and Semi-Diesel

Laura Decker

Decker completes her circumnavigation! This pic was shot at the start of her voyage.

AIS - Costa Concordia

The video below is provided by Qastar News (www.qps.il). It shows the position and course and speed of the Costa Concordia before, during and after the grounding. Some of what you see here is conjecture and some is derived right from the AIS (Automated Identification System) data stream. Clearly, the ship's captain erred in his initial navigation. He got too close to the rocks that damaged the ship, probably because he miscalculated the ship's dead reckoned position. It has been reported he was navigating by line of sight observations of landmarks on the island.



A point of interest here is the change of color of the graphic for the ship's position. It changes from green to yellow. In the AIS color scheme; Red indicates an identified ship that is considered a potential danger; green indicates an identified ship that is not a potential danger; yellow indicates an "unidentified" ship that is not a potential danger.

So why did the Costa Concordia become an unidentified ship? Perhaps it went from green to yellow because it lost power to the equipment that transmitted some of its data. Or perhaps Qastar interpolated the data for the ship when its speed dropped below a certain value. If this happened, the AIS plotter could no longer determine exactly how it was moving through the water.

Meanwhile, given what we're seeing here, it was quite a piloting feat to lay the ship on that sandbar.

Hot Tapping the Costa Concordia

A representative from Smit Salvage announced to authorities that the company would be hot tapping the ship to get the estimated 500,000 gallons of diesel out of its bunkers. Hot tapping is a process that allows a pressurized containment system to be accessed without the need for additional venting or the shutting down of ongoing operations. Simply stated, a valve body is attached to a bulkhead or pipe by welding or other means. After the valve is in place, a special drilling tool is attached to the valve and a bit is used to penetrate the valve seal and the wall of the pipe or bulkhead. The valve is closed and the tool removed and then the valve is plumbed. Some hot tapping procedures are multi-functional, designed for venting, injection and material transfer, and some are designed for just material transfer, like in the excellent demo below:

Smit Salvage - Costa Concordia

Smit Founder Fopp Smit

Word has it Smit International has been tasked with the salvage of the grounded and half sunk ship. Who better?

http://www.smit.com/sitefactor/page.asp?pageid=152

Costa Concordia - Raw Video - Inside Ship Panic

Giglio Porto Costo Concordia Wreck Site

Below: Most likely resting on Cala del Lazaretto, about 500 yards north of the Porto Giglio jetties.

Costa Concordia Details - Specifications

Vessel Information: Vessel Particulars:
Vessel Name: COSTA CONCORDIA
VIN: 9320544
Hull Number:
Vessel Flag: ITALY
Vessel Call Sign: IBHD
Build Year: 2006 Service: Passenger (Inspected)
Length: 951.8 ft
Breadth: 124.6 ft
Depth: 64.9 ft
Alternate VINs:
IMO Number: 9320544
Service Information: Tonnage Information:
Service: In Service
Out Of Service Date: N/A
Last Removed From Service By: N/A Deadweight:
Gross Tonnage(GRT): 114147
Net Tonnage(NRT): 87300
Gross Tonnage(GT ITC): 114500
Cargo Authority:

At the time of the grounding:

3206 Passengers on board with 1,000 Crew.
Hit ledge. tore 160' long gash in port side.
Rolled 80 degrees and sank. Presently half submerged.
Evacuation Complete.
3 dead. 14 injured. More than 50 missing.
Divers searching wreckage.

Costa Concordia Video