Latest webcam shot of the Costa Concordia on her side in Giglio Harbor

[Cooley Hurd]

WOW! Looks to be a total loss!!! SOLAS be damned!

on edit: pics from the BBC:

[dipsydoodle]

1. They'll need more than breakdown truck to get that upright

Mucho tugs.

That is rather a large hole in it side. For those not aware there is hardly any tide in the Med so they can't use that to help upright it.

More pics here http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2086527/Costa-Concordia-Massive-evacuation-underway-cruise-ship-starts-sinking-Italian-coast.html 160 foot gash is mentioned in that article.

[Cooley Hurd]

2. I'd be surprised if it's not a total loss and possibly requiring...

...scapping on the spot.

[dipsydoodle]

3. Without a tide to help

I think you're right. Other than that a whole of body filler etc.

[Cooley Hurd]

4. That gash would wipe out the world-wide Bondo supply!

[cherokeeprogressive]

22. Ha! I know a body shop in L.A. County with enough Bondo to fix that...

The head body man's nickname is Jaime Bondo.

[jakeXT]

5. Close the hole and pump the water out? /nt

[Cooley Hurd]

6. Not economically feasable at this point...

They would have to plug every porthole, door and passageway on the underwater side of the ship. Modern Cruise ships have patio doors and balconies (each patio door would have to be plugged). I can't see how this can be salvaged other than scrapping on the spot.

[jakeXT]

7. I wonder if you could put inflatable objects inside

to displace the water. Additionally maybe you could attach something inflatable to the side.

Didn't Myth Busters use ping pong balls to lift a sunken boat ?

Or the Island gets a new tourist attraction.

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. Or bring floating cranes

which lift it a little, and you let the water drain out a little, lift a little more, drain more, and so on. Eventually get something underneath, and attach floats either side.

[Cooley Hurd]

10. If it were a smaller ship, that would be a possibility...

...but Costa Concordia is over 950 ft long.

An operation like that with a ship this size has succeeded before (see my post regarding SS Normandie), but not without a HUGE price tag for the operation. My guess is they'll partially scrap on spot (the upper decks, superstructure, funnel) and then partially right her and tow the rest away.

[Cooley Hurd]

9. The ping pong ball myth originated years ago...

When the USS Lafayette (formerly SS Normandie) caught fire and capsized at Pier 88 in NYC back in '42, one idea was to fill the hull with ping pong balls to right her. Ultimately, they cut off her entire superstructure, plugged every single hole (porthole, doors, ducts, etc) and, with the combination of the tide, cranes mounted on Pier 88 and the Normandie's inherent stability (the last being the most important factor in righting the ship), they we able to get her upright, but she was deemed a total loss and scrapped anyway.

[malaise]

11. People still missing

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/14/italian-cruise-ship-runs-aground

[trumad]

12. shit---just call Mater...

[JCMach1]

13. That was one hell of a collision to leave that big a hole

[Esse Quam Videri]

14. Wow!!!!!!!!

When I went to bed last night the pictures I saw showed her listing 20-30 degrees max! How does something like this happen in an age with satellite GPS? I know for close in port maneuvering they use trained harbor pilots who know all the intricacies of the local waters. Any explanation yet?

[jakeXT]

19. They had electric problems, maybe there was no power for sonar or gps?

Mr Latarche said that the ship was powered by a bank of six diesel-electric engines which effectively worked as an onboard power station designed to supply electricity to all parts of the vessel.

But like power stations on land, the engines are prone to electrical surges and troughs caused by “harmonic interference”.

Mr Latarche added: “From the reports I have seen it seems there was an explosion followed by a blackout, which could have been caused by a power surge. There are various back-up systems in place on all ships but they may have failed also."

Mr Latarche said it was possible the cruise ship experienced the same problem that saw the Queen Mary 2 (QM2) lose power in September 2010 as she was approaching Barcelona.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9015103/Cruise-disaster-what-could-have-caused-the-accident.html

[bluedigger]

15. That ought to buff right out.

But seriously, I hope the unaccounted for made it ashore safely. It is hard to believe that such a modern cruise ship could be run aground so easily. There must have been a major software failure combined with (caused by?) human error.

[whistler162]

16. Sad and hopefully it is only the 3 known dead, too manybut could have been worse,

It does remind me of a very old story/joke

A variation of it is

http://www.navy.mil/navydata/navy_legacy_hr.asp?id=174

"Believe it or not...this is the transcript of an actual radio conversation between a US naval ship and Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland in October 1995. The Radio conversation was released by the Chief of Naval Operations on Oct. 10, 1995.

US Ship: Please divert your course 0.5 degrees to the south to avoid a collision.

CND reply: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.

US Ship: This is the Captain of a US Navy Ship. I say again, divert your course.

CND reply: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course!

US Ship: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS CORAL SEA*, WE ARE A LARGE WARSHIP OF THE US NAVY. DIVERT YOUR COURSE NOW!!

CND reply: This is a lighthouse. Your call. "

It will be interesting to know what led upto the ship hitting an island!

[xocet]

20. That is a great story. Here is some more information on it....

http://www.snopes.com/military/lighthouse.asp

[backscatter712]

17. Given the huge gouge in her hull under the waterline, and given the extensive water damage inside...

I'd say she's totaled.

Damn.

I'm betting they're gonna have to scrap her on the spot. She's gonna get turned into razor blades...

[Esse Quam Videri]

18. If the only gash is on her port side I think they will get her righted.

Just did a little research and found that the construction cost was 372 million pounds in 2006 dollars. They'll be able to get all the water out and rehab the interior for a lot less than that.

[EX500rider]

21. I find it strange..

....that the stabilizer fwd of the hole wasn't ripped off, also strange that she listed on the opposite side form the gash.

[Cooley Hurd]

23. 2 very good questions!

[jakeXT]

28. either floating sideways or a turn on the spot

as the ship was not heading forward but sideways, as if underwater there was this rock ..

the ship sailed at least half a mile north, and the captain turned it around toward land, where it toppled.

..

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/15/world/europe/italy-cruise-questions/index.html?c=&page=2

[JVS]

24. Gigolo harbor!

[tosh]

25. Wow! Here's a closer shot....

/


Collision: Rocks embedded in the ruptured side of the Costa Concordia reveal the extent of the damage to the hull

Edited to add link: http://www.cruise-addicts.com/forums/content/costa-concordia-tragedy-pictures-ship-sinking-off-coast-titanic-like-scene-508/

[Robb]

27. ...It broke rocks off the bottom and carried them along???

That's an insane picture.

[Iterate]

30. Just ballparking the size of that embedded boulder, about 200-300 tons.

I can't imagine they'll quickly write it off and scrap it, not a $700 million ship.

Stabilize it, pump out the hydrocarbons, plate the hull, pump out the water and re-float. A huge project in any case.

[LadyHawkAZ]

29. Meh

Get a few guys out there with some Bondo and she'll be upright and sailing in no time! The Free Market can handle anything!