13 January 2012, the wreck of the Concordia ship
After eight years from the shipwreck, the memory of a complex and unique emergency management
During the evening of January 13, 2012, the cruise ship Costa Concordia, with over 4,000 passengers and crew on board, started to embark water due to a collision with the rocks of the Scole and tilted near the island of Giglio: it was the biggest shipwreck of the modern era, with the loss of 32 people.
Immediately after the evacuation order, the Harbour Master's Office - Coast Guard of Livorno assumes the coordination of search and rescue operations at sea in which the specialized departments of Harbour Master's Office, Fire Brigade and Police Forces are engaged. Meanwhile, the Civil Protection System is activated to plan assistance to passengers evacuated to Giglio Island and then transferred to Porto S. Stefano.
In close coordination with the operational teams, resources from operational structures outside Tuscany Region, Navy divers and experienced volunteers from the National Mountain and Speleological Rescue Corps and the Italian Federation of Underwater Activities also participate in the search and rescue operations. The Prefect of Grosseto entrusts the technical direction of the rescue to the Commander of the Fire Brigade of Grosseto.
The research activities, difficult to carry out due to the position, the stability of the ship and the weather conditions, run in collaboration with the scientific community, involved in the monitoring of the Concordia.
On January 20, 2012, by decree of the President of the Council of Ministers, the state of emergency for the shipwreck is declared and the Council of Ministers appoints the Head of the Civil Protection Department Delegate Commissioner for Emergency. Among the tasks of the Delegated Commissioner: coordinating the interventions to overcome the emergency, controlling the execution of the safety and reclamation interventions by the shipowner, with the power to take the place of the person responsible in case of default, and verifying that the removal of the wreck takes place safely.
In support of the Commissioner's activities, a Committee with advisory functions and a technical-scientific Committee are set up and, from the outset, great attention is paid to the possible environmental risks linked to the leakage of fuel from the Concordia.
The wreck removal project is a complex and unique technical-engineering operation, involving over 500 technicians and 30 vessels, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
On 27 July 2014, the transfer of the wreck to the port of Genoa Prà-Voltri, for the subsequent dismantling operations, marks the end of the emergency.