Italy cruise ship wreck freed from rocks

The Costa Concordia cruise ship wreck began emerging from its watery grave on Monday in an unprecedented salvage operation on a stunning Italian island that has raised concern of a toxic waste spill.

The 290-metre (951-foot) could be seen gradually turning upright from the sideways position it has been in ever since foundering off the Tuscan coast in January 2012 in a tragedy that claimed 32 lives. 

The side of the 114,500-ton ship that had been underwater was rusty and brownish, contrasting with the white of the exposed side, although officials said the shift in the angle was only one or two degrees.

The biggest salvage of a passenger ship ever attempted was initially delayed by several hours because of storms. It began after a strict maritime exclusion zone was established around the site on the island of Giglio.

‘The senior salvage master gave the order to activate the commands,’ the civil protection agency, which is overseeing the project, said in a statement. Salvage coordinators say the lifting could last up to 12 hours and warn there will be some spillage of the ship’s waste into the pristine Mediterranean waters.

But they have played down environmentalist fears of thousands of tons of toxic waste pouring into the sea, saying they are ready to clean up any spill. ‘The concentrations will be limited. There is no contamination problem,’ said Giandomenico Ardizzone, a marine biology professor working on the project.

Ardizzone estimated that 29,000 tons of waste will pour out but said the quantity of toxic material will not be sufficient to cause permanent damage. The bigger concern for the salvage workers is whether the weakened hull of the ship can withstand the enormous pressure it will be under as it is winched up.