What's at Stake this November... And why the country needs American Women to vote

          

            

 American women, the country needs to hear from you! Do you know how powerful your one voice can be? How powerful your one vote can be?

     Remember, it only takes a few votes to make all the difference. In the presidential election of 2000, 104 million people voted and only 537 votes in Florida triggered events that changed the world. Would we have become involved in the unnecessary war in Iraq if Al Gore became President? Would America be falling so far behind on tackling climate change?
According to Edison Research, women specifically have the power to control Congress. In 2012 women made the difference in determining the outcomes in 22 of 23 Senate races. Women will usually vote for the things that make a difference in everyday life. It is women who do most of the shopping and are on the lookout to provide healthier food for their families. They are less interested in the priorities of giant agro-business and factory farms that are promoting unsafe use of antibiotics and the overuse of GMOs and pesticides. Women are trying to make the world a healthier place for generations to come, while Republicans are often on the receiving end of the torrent of campaign contributions from these corporations.

     During off-year elections, too many women stay home when their votes are needed. In 2010, the last midterm election, 10 million unmarried women who voted in 2008 did not show up! As a result, conservatives swept to power and eviscerated policies aimed at supporting American women, especially in healthcare. We will face another mid-term election in several weeks. Will your voice be heard?

Con't reading:    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barbra-streisand/what-is-at-stake-this-nov_1_b_5974398.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

Vitamin D and Other Benefits of Sunlight

     The debate on whether the sun is a friend or a foe is ongoing, with more and more people afraid of sun exposure given its ties to skin cancer and premature aging. But don't completely shun the sun, as sun exposure has numerous health benefits that go beyond just vitamin D.
    
     In a study conducted at the University of Caliornia, San Diego, researchers combined data from other surveys of satellite measurements of sunlight and cloud during the winter from 15 countries to estimate the serum level of vitamin D metabolite of people living in 177 countries. The compilation of data revealed a linked between low vitamin D levels and risk of colorectal and breast cancer. According to the researchers, raising the serum levels was found to be ideal for cancer prevention, which means 600,000 cases of breast and colorectal cancer could be prevented each year with sufficient exposure to sunlight.  Dr. Cedric Garland, DrPh, of UC San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center and co-author of the study, said, "This could be best achieved with a combination of diet, supplements and short intervals - 10 or 15 minutes a day - in the sun." The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) recommended levels of daily vitamin D is 1,000 IUs, the equivalent of 10 to 15 minutes of sun exposure.

A Better Night's Sleep

     Your amount of daylight exposure is vital in maintaining a normal circadian rhythm. These rhythms include physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle and respond to light and darkness in the body's environment, says the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). The sleep-wake cycle is contingent on morning sunlight to help you sleep at night. Natural daylight helps your body clock restart to its active daytime phase. To ensure that your body clock is in sync, be sure to go outside and get some sunlight when you wake up or turn on the lights in your room. This will give your body the signal that it is daytime and not nighttime. To avoid confusing your circadian rhythm, try not to sit in dim settings during the day because your body will associate the bright light with night. The less morning light you expose yourself to, the more difficult it will be for you to fall asleep and wake up at your set time,
 saysDiscovery.com.

     Regular sunlight exposure can naturally increase the serotonin levels in your body, making you more active and alert. In an article published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), exposure to bright light is seen as an approach to increase serotonin without the use of drugs. The positive correlation between the development of serotonin and the hours of sunlight during the day was seen in healthy volunteers. In a sample size of 101 healthy men, researchers found that turnover of serotonin in the brain was lowest during the winter whereas the production rate of serotonin was highest when the subjects stayed in the sunlight longer.


Enhances Your Mood

     The article therefore suggests that spending time in the summer sun can help you avoid the winter blues. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), seasonal depression, and mood variation has been linked to sunlight exposure. Dr. Timo Partonen from the University of Helsinki's National Public Health Institute in Finland and researchers found that blood levels of cholecalciferol, also known as vitamin D3, are relatively low in the winter months. Sunlight exposure in the summer can equip your body to stock up on vitamin D3 that can last throughout the fall and yield for the production of more vitamin D, which leads to higher serotonin levels.


Lowers Blood Pressure

     Skin that is exposed to ultraviolet (UV) rays release a compound, nitric oxide, that lowers blood pressure. In a recent study conducted at Edinburgh University, dermatologists studied the blood pressure of 34 volunteers under UV and heat lamps. In one session, the volunteers were exposed to both light sources and in the other session, the UV rays were blocked so only the heat affected the skin. The results of the study showed a significant drop in blood pressure after exposure to UV rays for an hour but not after the heat-only sessions. It is important to note that the volunteers' vitamin D levels were unaffected in both sessions.


Actually Protects From Melanoma

     Yes, safe sun exposure can actually protect you from melanoma. The skin's exposure to ultraviolet radiation of short wavelegnths (UVB) has been linked to a decreased risk of melanoma in outdoor workers compared to their indoor counterparts, which suggests chronic sunlight exposure can have a protective effect, says The Lancet Journal. In astudy, indoor workers were found to have increased rates of melanoma because they were only exposed to UVA light, which is associated with skin damage and skin cancer. These workers were found to get three to nine times less solar UV exposure than outdoor workers and therefore had lower levels of vitamin D. It was reported that the indoor UV breaks down vitamin D3 formed after outdoor UVB exposure, which can result in a vitamin D deficiency and increase the risk of melanoma.


Sufficient Supply of Vitamin D

     The most notable benefit of exposure to sunlight is its ability to boost your body's vitamin D supply. The NIH says at least 1,000 different genes that control every tissue in the body are linked to be regulated by vitamin D3. Vitamin D is produced by the skin's response to UV radiation primarily through sun exposure, which affects 10 percent of the genes in the human body. In a study, researchers did vitamin D screenings on approximately 500 children admitted to a pediatric hospital ward for 12 months. Two in five children were found to have a vitamin D deficiency, which was linked to severe illness and a longer hospital stay. A healthy supply of vitamin D promotes bone growth and prevent illnesses such as breast and colon cancer, inflammation, multiple sclerosis, seasonal disorders, and depression.

Source: Yahoo Health: Healthy Living
Sun Exposure: Vitamin D And Other Health Benefits Of Sunlight
By Lizette Borreli | Jun 4, 2013 01:50 PM EDT

Iran insists on 'absolute right' to enrich uranium

Iran's President Hassan Rowhani (L) stands next to Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran on August 5, 2013

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javed Zarif speaks during a joint press conference in Baghdad on September 8, 2013

The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany meet with Iran over their nuclear program on September 26, 2013 in New York.

AFP - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif insisted on Monday that his country has the "absolute right" to enrich uranium on its soil, ISNA news agency reported.
"The mastery of civil nuclear technology, including the enrichment of uranium, on Iranian soil is the absolute right of Iran," Zarif said at a meeting in Tehran with the visiting Swiss deputy foreign minister, Yves Rossier.


"The events of recent years have shown that the approach of threats and sanctions have not ensured the interests and objectives of the other party, and the continuation of this approach is the repetition of past mistakes which cannot prevent Iran from mastering civilian nuclear technology," he added.
The West and Israel have long accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear bombs in the guise of a civilian programme, charges Tehran has always vehemently denied
Iran and six world powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, the United States -- are set to resume negotiations in Geneva on October 15 to try to find a solution to the nuclear issue.


They would be the first talks between Iran and the six since the election in June of moderate President Hassan Rouhani, who has called for a speedy settlement of an issue that has been stalled for eight years.
At meetings in Almaty this year, the six proposed Iran suspend uranium enrichment at the 20 percent level it says it needs for a medical research reactor, and to halt enrichment at its underground plant at Fordo.
In return, they would ease some sanctions on trade in gold and petrochemicals.
However, Zarif said on Sunday the offers were now "history" and that the group "should come to the negotiating table with a new approach."


US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday urged Iran to come up with new proposals.
"The group of six put a proposal on the table at Almaty and I don't believe as of yet Iran has fully responded to that particular proposal. So I think we are waiting for the fullness of the Iranian difference in their approach now," Kerry told reporters in Indonesia after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
"So what we need are a set of proposals from Iran that will fully disclose how they will show the world that their programme is peaceful," he added.

Costa Concordia cruise ship wreck

First aerial photos reveal how doomed Costa Concordia has been rolled upright as divers begin grim task of hunting for the missing two bodies

Scroll down for videos

Salvage officials think Russel Rebello and Maria Grazia Trecarichi's bodies could be found in lifeboat under hull

Engineers confirmed they reached 25 degrees just before midnight and vessel was finally upright by 4am today

The 114,000 tonne ship has been marooned outside Giglio harbour off the coast of Tuscany, Italy, for 20 months

Some 32 people lost their lives on January 13, 2012 when the vessel hit rocks and sank with 4,200 people aboard

Liner was rotated with pulleys and lifted up in the largest and most expensive maritime salvage operation ever

Engineers expect a 'burp' of noxious gases as the ship is lifted and trapped air bubbles are released

Raised the ship by 65 degrees - without it breaking in two - and it's vertical so it can be towed away next spring

Ship's captain Francesco Schettino, aka 'Captain Coward', at home in Naples preparing to face trial over disaster

By Hannah Roberts In Giglio, Mark Duell and Harriet Arkell

PUBLISHED:02:46 EST, 16 September 2013| UPDATED:03:34 EST, 18 September 2013

These dramatic images shed new light on the biggest ever salvage operation of a passenger ship - an epic effort that took 19 hours.

The satellite photographs were released as salvagers declared the unprecedented operation a success and the hunt for the last two missing Costa Concordia passengers got underway.

Officials believe the bodies of waiter Russel Rebello and passenger Maria GraziaTrecarichi could be found in a lifeboat beneath the ship’s hull.

It was hoped that their remains would become visible as the complex system of cables and hydraulics hauled the vessel - on which 32 lives

From above: A European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company image shows the operation on the Costa Concordia cruise ship, taken by the Astrium satellite

Recovery: This EADS image shows another view of the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship after it was turned upright in the harbour of Isola de Giglio

Successful: Rotating the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship is believed to be one of the biggest maritime salvage operations in history

Wide view: The severly damaged side of the stricken Costa Concordia is visible after the parbuckling operation succesfully uprighted the ship around 4am

Upright again: The recovery of the ship Costa Concordia shipwreck was successfully completed early this morning off the island of Giglio

Destroyed: Work began to right the stricken Costa Concordia vessel, which sank in January 2012. If the operation is successful, it will then be towed away and scrapped

Vertical: Rust and grime covers one half of the Costa Concordia after the stricken vessel was winched upright after more than a year resting on its side in Giglion harbour

What happens next: The damage must be repaired to stabilize the ship so it can withstand the coming winter, when seas and winds will whip the liner

'Perfect' effort: The crippled cruise ship was pulled completely upright after a complicated, 19-hour operation to wrench it from its side where it capsized last year

Salvage teams worked through the night for 19 hours - and decks eventually became visible after being underwater for 20 months since it went down off the coast Tuscany, Italy.
The vessel is covered in rust and stained by the sea, while all the windows which were submerged in Giglio harbour, have been shattered.

More...

• Underwater cameras capture the eerie corridors on the Costa Concordia and the debris of shattered holidays on seabed on eve of operation to raise striken cruise ship
• Raise the Costa Concordia: 12 hours, 500 engineers and 18,000 tonnes of cement... how cruise liner will be lifted in most expensive maritime salvage operation in history
• Inside the house that time forgot: Shipping magnate's 40-bedroom mansion where relics date back to the 1920s
• Raised in 60 seconds: Time lapse video reduces 19-hour, £500million mission to lift the Concordia to just one minute

Kevin Rebello, the waiter's brother, and Elio Vincenzi, the passenger's husband, were expected to arrive on the island today.
'I haven't slept since yesterday,' Kevin Rebello said in an interview in Rome. 'It's taken 20 months. If it takes another 20 hours, for me it's worth the wait.'

TIME-LAPSE. Shipwrecked Costa Concordia raised

Stages: A minute-long time-lapse video reveals the impressive £500million parbuckling effort to right the Costa Concordia off the Italian island of Giglio

Lifted up: Salvage experts started the rotation of the ship yesterday at around 9am, before the cruise liner was finally laid to rest on an underwater mattress today at 4am

Falling apart: A detail of the shipwrecked cruise ship Costa Concordia in an upright position after the salvage operations in Giglio island, Italy

Finally above water: The wrecked side of the Costa Concordia, which has been submerged under water for the last 20 months, was finally visible this morning

Reporting: Broadcast crew work in front of the wreckage of Italy's Costa Concordia cruise ship near the harbour of Giglio Porto

Dedication: The wreck of Italy's Costa Concordia was finally upright this morning after salvage crews worked through the night to complete the 19-hour operation

Lifted up: The severly damaged side of the stricken Costa Concordia is visible after the parbuckling operation succesfully uprighted the ship

Above sea level: Work began yesterday to right the stricken Costa Concordia vessel, which sank on January 12, 2012

Operation: A detail of the right side of the Costa Concordia is seen after it was lifted upright on the Tuscan Island of Giglio, Italy, early this morning

Wreckage: The damaged side of the capsized cruise liner Costa Concordia is seen at the end of the 'parbuckling' operation outside Giglio harbour

Effects of marine life: The damaged side of the capsized cruise liner Costa Concordia is seen at the end of the 'parbuckling' operation outside Giglio harbour

Looking on: Salvage crews have completed one of the most difficult and expensive wreck recovery projects ever performed

All in one piece: The capsized cruise liner Costa Concordia is seen at the end of the 'parbuckling' operation outside Giglio harbour

Big job: The crippled cruise ship was pulled completely upright early this morning after a complicated, 19-hour operation to wrench it from its side where it capsized

Operation: The hunt for the last two missing Costa Concordia passengers was today under way after the ship was finally pulled upright early this morning

First of its kind: The procedure, known as parbuckling, has never been carried out on a vessel as large as Costa Concordia before

THE LAST TWO MISSING BODIES

Russel Rebello (right) was a waiter on board the ship and a married father-of-two from Mumbai, India.
The 33 year old - who had been working on the Costa Concordia for a few months before the incident - was praised for his heroism in saving lives before he died when the cruise liner sank.
He even gave one survivor his own lifejacket - and was last seen as he made his way to a muster station at a restaurant on the ship.
His brother Kevin Rebello, said that he hopes he can one day bring his brother home to Mumbai ‘to give him a decent burial’.

Passenger Maria Grazia Trecarichi was celebrating her 50th birthday on the ship with her 17-year-old daughter Stefania.
They boarded different lifeboats because Mrs Trecarichi (above), from Sicily, was cold and had gone below deck to get a jacket. Stefania survived.
Elio Vincenzi, her husband, said: ‘I am still hoping to find my wife. This is a tense wait for me and for my daughter.'

And Mr Vincenzi said: ‘I am still hoping to find my wife. This is a tense wait for me and for my daughter.'
Despite fears the ship may break apart before it reached the crucial angle of 65 degrees, the operation has gone smoothly, but slower than expected.
The £500million salvage effort is said to be the largest in maritime history, but there will be no saving the £370million liner - destined for the scrapyard.
Local residents and survivors said that there was an eerie feeling as the ship rose - and some said the sight reminded them of the tragedy.
‘Seeing it re-emerge is emotional for me,’ said survivor Luciano Castro. ‘I could not miss it. That ship could have been my end and instead I am here.'
The operation will not be complete until the vessel is towed away from the island - probably by next spring, after a full survey is done on the wreckage.
Shortly after 4am today, a foghorn wailed on Giglio island and the head of Italy's Civil Protection agency announced that the ship had reached vertical.
Franco Gabrielli added that the operation to rotate the cruise liner - known in nautical terms as parbuckling - was complete.
Some 36 giant cables were placed across the hull to drag up the ship - and enormous tanks were welded onto its side and filled with water to act as ballast.
'We completed the parbuckling operation a few minutes ago the way we thought it would happen and the way we hoped it would happen,' said Franco Porcellacchia, project manager for the Concordia's owner, Costa Crociere Spa.
'A perfect operation, I must say.'
No environmental spill has been detected so far, he said. Applause rang out among firefighters in the tent where the engineers made the announcement.
An hour later, Nick Sloane, the South African chief salvage master, received a hero's welcome as he came ashore from the barge that had served as the floating command control room for the operation.

Lost hero: Russel Rebello, a married father-of-two from Mumbai, India had only been employed on the Costa Concordia for a few months as a waiter when the ship sank

Still missing: Russel Rebello was praised for his heroism in saving lives before he died when the cruise liner sank

Up close: Local residents and survivors said that there was an eerie feeling as the ship rose - and some said the sight reminded them of the tragedy

The operation continues: Workers on a boat sail past the Costa Concordia ship after it was lifted upright, on the Tuscan Island of Giglio, Italy

Inspection: Members of US company Titan Salvage and Italian firm Micoperi look at the damaged side of the wreckage of Italy's Costa Concordia cruise ship

Mission: Salvage experts started the rotation of the ship yesterday at around 9am, before the ship was finally laid to rest on an underwater mattress today at 4am

Difficult task: The Concordia's submerged side suffered significant damage during the 20 months it bore the weight of the ship on the jagged reef

Rusty: Salvage operators in Italy lifted the Costa Concordia cruise ship upright from its watery grave off the island of Giglio in the biggest ever project of its kind

Damage: The vessel is covered in rust and stained by the sea, while all the windows which were submerged in Giglio harbour, Italy, have been shattered

Smashed: Damaged windows of the wreckage of Italy's Costa Concordia cruise ship near the harbour of Giglio Porto

Brought up: The Costa Concordia ship is seen after it was lifted upright, on the Tuscan Island of Giglio, Italy, this morning

Back up: As the ship rose from the depths, decks which have been underwater for 20 months since the ship went down with the loss of 32 lives, became visible

Wreck: The previously sunken side of the Costa Concordia is covered in rust and stained by the sea while all the windows are shattered

Detail: The Costa Concordia vessel is covered in rust and stained by the sea while all the windows which were submerged are shattered

Momentous occasion: A foghorn sounded across the harbour of Giglio Porto as 4am this morning to mark the moment the Costa Concordia completed its 65 degree rotation

Breaking dawn: The upright wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship can be seen as the sun rises over Giglio in Italy this morning

As day breaks: The Costa Concordia cruise liner is seen after it was lifted upright, on the Tuscan Island of Giglio, Italy, early Tuesday morning

Picture perfect: The ship was wrenched from its side where it capsized last year off Tuscany, with officials declaring it a 'perfect' end to a daring engineering feat

'Brilliant! Perfetto,' Sloane said, using some of the Italian he has learned over the past year on Giglio preparing for Tuesday's operation.
'It was a struggle, a bit of a roller coaster. But for the whole team it was fantastic.'
The Concordia slammed into a reef off Giglio Island on January 13, 2012, after the captain brought it too close to shore.
The cruise ship drifted, listed and capsized just off the island's port, killing 32 people.

Standing straight: The Costa Concordia after it was lifted upright, on the Tuscan Island of Giglio, Italy, in the early hours Tuesday morning

Close up: The crippled cruise ship was pulled completely upright early Tuesday morning after a 19-hour operation to wrench it from its side. Officials declaring it a 'perfect' end to a daring and unprecedented engineering feat

Complicated operation: Salvage workers attempt to raise the cruise ship last night by 'parbuckling' - rotating the ship by a series of cables and hydraulic machines

Surveying the damage: The severely damaged side of the stricken Costa Concordia is visible after the parbuckling operation successfully put the cruise ship upright this morning

Steady progress: Engineers managed to raise the ship 25 degrees during the course of the day and said they hoped things would get easier as gravity starts to take effect

Carefully watched: Every minute of the lengthy operation has been followed by the world's media, pictured, who have descended on Giglio and camped out overnight

Engineers are now using remote controls to carefully open valves to let seawater start filling huge ballast tanks that had been welded onto the already exposed side so the weight of the water in the tanks helped pull the cruise liner up much faster

Giglio was hit by an electrical storm yesterday which delayed the start of the winching by three hours and it was a further three hours before the huge system of pulleys, counterweights and chains eased the cruise liner free.
The salvage operation involved engineers using the technique known as 'parbuckling', rotating the vessel using a series of cables and hydraulic machines.

‘After applying 6,000 tons of force, we saw the detachment of the ship from the reef,’ said engineering chief Sergio Girotto.

In an unprecedented maritime salvage operation, engineers on Monday gingerly wrestled the hull of the shipwrecked Costa Concordia off the Italian reef where the cruise ship has been stuck since January 2012

Losing light: As work continues into the night the top desk is now almost entirely visible above the waves for the first time since January 2012

Engineers inspect parts of Costa Concordia which have lain underwater for nearly two years - the salvage operation was underway yesterday off the coast of Giglio island

Emerging from the depths: The distinctive marks and broken windows show exactly where the water level stopped even as it is gradually turned upright

The capsized Costa Concordia liner is pictured several hours in to the £500m operation to right the vessel which is involving engineers from 24 different countries

The shipwrecked cruise Costa Concordia before the start of parbucking (top) and after the salvage work starts (bottom), showing the rusty yellowish-stain (circled) where it at rested, during the ongoing operation in Giglio

The rusty yellowish-stain line on the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship after (L) and before (R) it was slowly lifted during salvage works

The line of rust, left, shows the progress of efforts to move the enormous ship and right, taken 92 minutes after the top picture, the bottom image shows the painfully slow process of lifting the Costa Concordia off its side

Winching the liner upright was expected to take up to 12 hours, but a threat of tangles in the steel cables last night delayed the operation, which was eventually completed after 19 hours.
The final phase of the rotation went remarkably fast as gravity began to kick in and pull the ship toward its normal vertical position.
Parbuckling is a standard operation to right capsized ships. But never before had it been used on such a huge cruise liner. The Concordia is expected to be floated away from Giglio in the spring and turned into scrap.
Sloane said an initial inspection of the starboard side, covered in brown slime from its 20 months underwater while the ship was stuck on a rocky seabed perch, indicated serious damage that must be fixed in the coming weeks and months. The damage he said was caused by both the capsizing and the operation to rotate the ship.

A general view shows the shipwrecked cruise Costa Concordia before(R) and during (L) the salvage work, showing the rusty yellowish-stain where it at rested, during the ongoing operation in Giglio island The Concordia was lying on its side on an underwater reef. An underwater platform was built on which the ship will come to rest as a system of jacks and cables haul it upright

Dozens of crank-like pulleys slowly rotated the ship upright at a rate of about 3 metres per hour, while steel chains weighing 17,000 tons have been looped under the vessel to help pull it upright

The deck of the liner was revealed as the salvage operation continued throughout the afternoon yesterday - by lunchtime the ship had been tilted back three degrees, with 62 degrees to go

Engineers from around the world have worked to attach cables to water tanks ('caissons') on the port side of the ship to pull it upright and then keep it afloat

Slowly, the submerged part of the ship was winched above water three hours into the salvage operation - but there was no sign yet of the two people still missing Islanders on Giglio are delighted to see the operation to 'parbuckle' (set straight) the Costa Concordia is finally underway, 20 months after the liner sank off the coast

This shot shows the scale of the operation to right the half-submerged vessel - the water-filled caissons and pulley system can be seen on the right of the shot

The 114,000-tonne cruise liner's swimming pools could be seen on the deck as the Italian cruise ship was slowly rotated in the £500m salvage operation yesterday

Massive operation: Work is now underway to right the stricken Costa Concordia liner, 20 months after it hit a reef and sank off the coast of Tuscany, at a cost of 32 lives

Journalists and residents on the picturesque fishing island watch this morning as the salvage operation gets underway - islanders are keen to get the ship moved

Hundreds of cables are attached to caissons - metal tanks on the side of the ship filled with water that are being used as ballast to winch the vessel upright

The sun rose over the Tuscan coast yesterday morning as engineers prepared to launch the largest and most expensive rescue operation in maritime history

Delicate operation: The engineers working to right the ship hope it can be towed ashore next spring and dismantled for scrap

Members of the US salvage firm Titan and Italian firm Micoperi work on the wreck of the Costa Concordia near Giglio Porto yesterday morning after the delayed operation began

A raft of vessels was in place outside Giglio harbour yesterday to assist with what is the biggest and most expensive maritime rescue operation in history

'We have to do a really detailed inspection of the damage,' to determine how to shore it up so it can withstand towing.

But he seemed confident: 'She was strong enough to come up like this, she's strong enough to be towed.'

The island was crowded yesterday with people watching the spectacle. Its harbour, Giglio Porto, was closed to the public but dozens surveyed the scene from the cliffs.

Residents of the tiny island of Giglio expressed their delight at the shadow of the disaster finally being lifted.

‘We are still in shock from that night,’ said Assunta Schiafino, a cafe worker, who remembers the terror of the 4,000 passengers made to abandon the listing ship in the dark. ‘There were thousands of them here on the port and all our doors were open to help them. It changed all our lives for ever.'

Annaretta Badari and Virgini Feramola from Reggio Emiglia in northern Italy have been holidaying on the island for 20 years, but were put off after the shipwreck. They came back to watch the salvage operation.

‘It’s caused enormous anguish for people here,’ said Mrs Badari. ‘I hope that they manage to take it away and that they find something off the two missing people. We will pray for the relatives.’

Concordia survivor returns to the site of tragedy

The starboard side of the ship, which was raised 65 degrees in the operation, must now be stabilized to enable crews to attach empty tanks on the side that will later be used to help float the vessel away.

It must also be made strong enough to withstand the winter storm season, when high seas and gusts will likely buffet the 115,000-ton, 300-metre (1,000-foot) long liner.

After receiving cheers, embraces and a kiss from his wife on shore, Sloane said he wanted to get some sleep, a beer 'and maybe a barbeque tomorrow'.

'I think the whole team is proud of what they achieved,' he said as he was mobbed by well-wishers and television crews.

Helping the Concordia to weather the winter is an artificial platform on the seabed that was constructed to support the ship's flat keel. 'The ship is resting on its platform,' Gabrielli said.

About an hour before the rotation was complete, observers said the boat seemed to suddenly settle down on its new perch.

Residents on the small fishing island are keen to see the ship righted and towed away - it has lain offshore for 20 months now and they see it as a depressing blot on their picturesque landscape

The operation to raise the Costa Concordia began at 8am UK time yesterday after it was delayed by fierce electrical storms that hit the island of Giglio overnight

The deck of the boat - including one of its swimming pools, left, could be seen by onlookers onshore as the vessel was slowly raised

Fierce and unexpected electrical storms overnight had cleared the skies ahead of the rescue operation - engineers will use a technique called 'parbuckling' to raise the ship

Workers have put anti-pollution floating barriers around the shipwreck, designed to absorb any toxic waste that might leak as it it raised - but Greenpeace say such barriers will not prevent pollution

Mayor Sergio Ortelli said the island felt a wave of relief as soon as the Concordia was freed from the reef in the initial hours of the operation. But he said there was also the realisation that two bodies have yet to be found, with a fresh search to be launched now.

The Concordia's captain is on trial for alleged manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning the ship during the chaotic and delayed evacuation.

Captain Francesco Schettino claims the reef wasn't on the nautical charts for the liner's week-long Mediterranean cruise.

It emerged yesterday afternoon that Schettino, who was at the command of the ship when it ran aground, is not on the island for the historic righting of his liner.

Schettino, universally known as Captain Coward after allegedly abandoning ship with 300 passengers still aboard, is reportedly at his home near Naples, preparing for his trial which will resume on September 23 and refusing even to speak to friends.

Carlo Sassi, Schettino’s spokesman told the Italian news agency ANSA: ‘He is not even talking to me. It’s months since we last spoke. He doesn’t call me any more. He doesn’t want to listen any more - perhaps it is the new defensive line of his new legal team.’

Costa is a division of Miami-based Carnival Corp., the world's largest cruise company.

Engineers worked on the bow of the Costa Concordia this morning ahead of the massive salvage operation - workers from 24 countries are involved in the project

The team in charge of the salvage operation was keen to move the shipwreck before the autumn storms arrived and broke it up even more

This is the biggest such maritime salvage operation ever undertaken, and engineers are hoping the ship will not splinter or leak toxic materials as it is winched upright

The Costa Concordia's progress is being watched by residents on the fishing island of Giglio - the presence of the stricken craft has been an unhappy reminder of the tragedy last January and locals are glad to see the wreck go

Next spring, when engineers hope to float the ship away, they will gradually empty the water tanks until the ship is buoyant enough to float away, with the empty tanks on each side acting as a giant pair of water wings.

Officials are predicting a massive ‘burp’ of noxious gases as the ship is lifted and air-bubbles beneath the surface are released.

Civil protection engineer Francesco Campopiano said ‘There is a hypothesis that due to the decomposition of organic matter, sulphurous gases will be released that will smell like rotting eggs.

'Imagine you had meat in the refrigerator and left it for a week. That’s what it will smell like.'

Fuel was siphoned out of the ship soon after it sank, but there still remains fuel and toxic waste on board, so an absorbent barrier has been placed around the ship to catch any leaks during the salvage operation.

Despite ecologists' fears, no major pollution has been detected in the waters near the ship so far, but campaigners have warned that even in the best case scenario, the pollution equivalent to a small town would be emitted during the parbuckling operation.

South African Nick Sloane, 52, is the senior salvage master for Titan, the American salvage company which, together with Italian firm Micoperi, is charged with raising the stricken vessel and towing it back to shore

Italian Admiral Stefano Tortora is overseeing the massive rescue operation off the coast of the Tuscan island of Giglio

Workers stand in front of the Costa Concordia lying on its side in the Mediterranean yesterday morning, shortly before the salvage operation began

An underwater platform has been built on which the 114,00-tonne ship will come to rest as jacks and underwater cables haul it upright in the rescue operation

According to official figures a perfect parbuckling operation will still cause the at-sea dispersion of 80,000 cubic metres of liquid, a third of those currently contained in the vessel.

Alessandro Giannì, campaigns director of Greenpeace Italy, said: ‘We are rooting for everything to go well. But we have to be realistic. These liquids, which have become ever more toxic over the 20 months inside the ship, include tonnes of organic substances and other potentially carcinogenic chemicals: adhesives, detergents, flame retardants.

'It's as if you accidentally discharged the sewage and furnishings of a town of five thousand inhabitants into the sea.'

'Even in the best-case scenario the pollution equivalent to small town would be emitted. It’s difficult to say how long it will take to get back to normality: Exxon mobile took 20 years.

However, engineers have dismissed as 'remote' the possibility that the Concordia might break apart and no longer be sound enough to be towed to the mainland to be turned into scrap.

Reporters from around the world gathered at Giglio harbour to watch the massive salvage operation of the Costa Concordia - engineers said it would be at least an hour before any visible movement

Sergio Ortelli, the mayor of Giglio, said residents of the island were keen to see the ship removed.

He said the stricken ship lying offshore was a problem they wanted 'to solve as soon as we can', and added: 'Islanders can't wait to see the back of it.'

Residents of the fishing island have watched for more than a year from the shore as cranes and barges have moved into place to try to remove the hulk from their port.

Some gathered this morning on a breakwater to witness the operation getting underway, and the local paper headline read 'We're Holding Our Breath'

The ship has been marooned and half-sunk off the coast of Tuscany for 20 months, and footage filmed by divers shows the former deck where passengers once sunbathed turned on its side, with dinner plates, cutlery, shoes and sun loungers scattered across the seabed.

Thirty-two people died when the ship, with 4,200 passengers and crew onboard, hit rocks and ran aground off the island of Giglio after an ill-judged 'salute' to inhabitants by the ship’s captain.

The USS Oklahoma was parbuckled by the US military in 1943 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, but the 1,000ft Concordia has been described as the largest cruise ship ever to capsize and subsequently require the complex rotation.

Haunting images taken by divers' video cameras show the ship's rooms, complete with mirrors, hairdryers and other items used by the ship's 4,200 passengers before it sank in January 2012

Chairs covered with tablecloths lie on the seabed close to the Italian island of Giglio where the Costa Concordia has lain for a year-and-a-half - 32 people lost their lives in the disaster

Underwater cameras capture inside Costa Concordia debris

Four Costa Concordia crew members and a Costa Cruises company official were sentenced to jail in July for their part in the accident, and the ship's captain Francesco Schettino (above) remains on trial for manslaughter and causing the loss of the ship

Passengers onboard the cruise ship Costa Concordia wait to be evacuated after it ran aground off the island of Giglio last year - of the 4,200 people aboard, 32 died

This aerial view of the Costa Concordia gives an idea of the scale of the operation facing the Italian and American engineers tasked with raising the huge ship from the seabed

COSTA CONCORDIA TRAGEDY: THE FACTS AND FIGURES

The Costa Concordia cruise liner hit a reef off the Italian island of Giglio on the night of 13 January 2012 after its captain, Francesco Schettino, had deviated from the ship's course to make an unplanned salute to the islanders.
There were 4,252 passengers and crew on board from countries around the world on what should have been the first leg of a cruise around the Mediterranean, starting from Civitavecchia in Lazio.
When the ship hit the reef the crashing sound could be heard, and it cut a 230ft long gash in the ship's hull, letting seawater rush in and making the vessel tilt so dramatically that many of the lifeboats on one side could not be launched.

This picture, taken this morning, shows engineers beginning their operation to right the stricken cruise ship that sank with the loss of 32 lives in January last year

There was a temporary power blackout on board as water flooded the engine room, and as the ship listed over, many people jumped into the water to swim for shore, while others were rescued by lifeboat and helicopters.
The ship's captain decided not to call Giglio harbour for emergency help initially - instead, he tried to reverse the vessel's course, and only eventually ordered evacuation after an hour when the ship grounded after listing in the water.
Meanwhile passengers had already called emergency services and in the ensuing six-hour rescue operation, most people were safely brought to shore. Thirty-two died and two are still unaccounted for - engineers working to right the ship today are hoping to locate the two bodies in the wreckage.
Dubbed 'Italy's most hated man' and 'Captain Coward', Schettino is currently on trial over charges of multiple manslaughter, abandoning ship and causing a shipwreck. He claims the reef he hit wasn't on the nautical charts for the cruise.
Costa Concordia was operated by Costa Cruises, which offered €11,000 compensation to each passenger - a third of them have so far taken up this offer.

 

First aerial photos reveal how doomed Costa Concordia has been rolled upright as divers begin grim task of hunting for the missing two bodies

• Salvage officials think Russel Rebello and Maria Grazia Trecarichi's bodies could be found in lifeboat under hull
• Engineers confirmed they reached 25 degrees just before midnight and vessel was finally upright by 4am today
• The 114,000 tonne ship has been marooned outside Giglio harbour off the coast of Tuscany, Italy, for 20 months
• Some 32 people lost their lives on January 13, 2012 when the vessel hit rocks and sank with 4,200 people aboard
• Liner was rotated with pulleys and lifted up in the largest and most expensive maritime salvage operation ever
• Engineers expect a 'burp' of noxious gases as the ship is lifted and trapped air bubbles are released
• Raised the ship by 65 degrees - without it breaking in two - and it's vertical so it can be towed away next spring
• Ship's captain Francesco Schettino, aka 'Captain Coward', at home in Naples preparing to face trial over disaster

By Hannah Roberts In Giglio, Mark Duell and Harriet Arkell
PUBLISHED:02:46 EST, 16 September 2013| UPDATED:03:34 EST, 18 September 2013

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These dramatic images shed new light on the biggest ever salvage operation of a passenger ship - an epic effort that took 19 hours.
The satellite photographs were released as salvagers declared the unprecedented operation a success and the hunt for the last two missing Costa Concordia passengers got underway.

Officials believe the bodies of waiter Russel Rebello and passenger Maria Grazia Trecarichi could be found in a lifeboat beneath the ship’s hull.
It was hoped that their remains would become visible as the complex system of cables and hydraulics hauled the vessel - on which 32 lives were lost - from its side.
Scroll down for videos

From above: A European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company image shows the operation on the Costa Concordia cruise ship, taken by the Astrium satellite

Recovery: This EADS image shows another view of the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship after it was turned upright in the harbour of Isola de Giglio

Successful: Rotating the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship is believed to be one of the biggest maritime salvage operations in history

Wide view: The severly damaged side of the stricken Costa Concordia is visible after the parbuckling operation succesfully uprighted the ship around 4am

Upright again: The recovery of the ship Costa Concordia shipwreck was successfully completed early this morning off the island of Giglio

Destroyed: Work began to right the stricken Costa Concordia vessel, which sank in January 2012. If the operation is successful, it will then be towed away and scrapped

Vertical: Rust and grime covers one half of the Costa Concordia after the stricken vessel was winched upright after more than a year resting on its side in Giglion harbour

What happens next: The damage must be repaired to stabilize the ship so it can withstand the coming winter, when seas and winds will whip the liner

'Perfect' effort: The crippled cruise ship was pulled completely upright after a complicated, 19-hour operation to wrench it from its side where it capsized last year

Salvage teams worked through the night for 19 hours - and decks eventually became visible after being underwater for 20 months since it went down off the coast Tuscany, Italy.
The vessel is covered in rust and stained by the sea, while all the windows which were submerged in Giglio harbour, have been shattered.

More...

• Underwater cameras capture the eerie corridors on the Costa Concordia and the debris of shattered holidays on seabed on eve of operation to raise striken cruise ship
• Raise the Costa Concordia: 12 hours, 500 engineers and 18,000 tonnes of cement... how cruise liner will be lifted in most expensive maritime salvage operation in history
• Inside the house that time forgot: Shipping magnate's 40-bedroom mansion where relics date back to the 1920s
• Raised in 60 seconds: Time lapse video reduces 19-hour, £500million mission to lift the Concordia to just one minute

Kevin Rebello, the waiter's brother, and Elio Vincenzi, the passenger's husband, were expected to arrive on the island today.
'I haven't slept since yesterday,' Kevin Rebello said in an interview in Rome. 'It's taken 20 months. If it takes another 20 hours, for me it's worth the wait.'

TIME-LAPSE. Shipwrecked Costa Concordia raised

Stages: A minute-long time-lapse video reveals the impressive £500million parbuckling effort to right the Costa Concordia off the Italian island of Giglio

Lifted up: Salvage experts started the rotation of the ship yesterday at around 9am, before the cruise liner was finally laid to rest on an underwater mattress today at 4am

Falling apart: A detail of the shipwrecked cruise ship Costa Concordia in an upright position after the salvage operations in Giglio island, Italy

Finally above water: The wrecked side of the Costa Concordia, which has been submerged under water for the last 20 months, was finally visible this morning

Reporting: Broadcast crew work in front of the wreckage of Italy's Costa Concordia cruise ship near the harbour of Giglio Porto

Dedication: The wreck of Italy's Costa Concordia was finally upright this morning after salvage crews worked through the night to complete the 19-hour operation

Lifted up: The severly damaged side of the stricken Costa Concordia is visible after the parbuckling operation succesfully uprighted the ship

Above sea level: Work began yesterday to right the stricken Costa Concordia vessel, which sank on January 12, 2012

Operation: A detail of the right side of the Costa Concordia is seen after it was lifted upright on the Tuscan Island of Giglio, Italy, early this morning

Wreckage: The damaged side of the capsized cruise liner Costa Concordia is seen at the end of the 'parbuckling' operation outside Giglio harbour

Effects of marine life: The damaged side of the capsized cruise liner Costa Concordia is seen at the end of the 'parbuckling' operation outside Giglio harbour

Looking on: Salvage crews have completed one of the most difficult and expensive wreck recovery projects ever performed

All in one piece: The capsized cruise liner Costa Concordia is seen at the end of the 'parbuckling' operation outside Giglio harbour

Big job: The crippled cruise ship was pulled completely upright early this morning after a complicated, 19-hour operation to wrench it from its side where it capsized

Operation: The hunt for the last two missing Costa Concordia passengers was today under way after the ship was finally pulled upright early this morning

First of its kind: The procedure, known as parbuckling, has never been carried out on a vessel as large as Costa Concordia before

THE LAST TWO MISSING BODIES

Russel Rebello (right) was a waiter on board the ship and a married father-of-two from Mumbai, India.
The 33 year old - who had been working on the Costa Concordia for a few months before the incident - was praised for his heroism in saving lives before he died when the cruise liner sank.
He even gave one survivor his own lifejacket - and was last seen as he made his way to a muster station at a restaurant on the ship.
His brother Kevin Rebello, said that he hopes he can one day bring his brother home to Mumbai ‘to give him a decent burial’.

Passenger Maria Grazia Trecarichi was celebrating her 50th birthday on the ship with her 17-year-old daughter Stefania.
They boarded different lifeboats because Mrs Trecarichi (above), from Sicily, was cold and had gone below deck to get a jacket. Stefania survived.
Elio Vincenzi, her husband, said: ‘I am still hoping to find my wife. This is a tense wait for me and for my daughter.'

And Mr Vincenzi said: ‘I am still hoping to find my wife. This is a tense wait for me and for my daughter.'
Despite fears the ship may break apart before it reached the crucial angle of 65 degrees, the operation has gone smoothly, but slower than expected.
The £500million salvage effort is said to be the largest in maritime history, but there will be no saving the £370million liner - destined for the scrapyard.
Local residents and survivors said that there was an eerie feeling as the ship rose - and some said the sight reminded them of the tragedy.
‘Seeing it re-emerge is emotional for me,’ said survivor Luciano Castro. ‘I could not miss it. That ship could have been my end and instead I am here.'
The operation will not be complete until the vessel is towed away from the island - probably by next spring, after a full survey is done on the wreckage.
Shortly after 4am today, a foghorn wailed on Giglio island and the head of Italy's Civil Protection agency announced that the ship had reached vertical.
Franco Gabrielli added that the operation to rotate the cruise liner - known in nautical terms as parbuckling - was complete.
Some 36 giant cables were placed across the hull to drag up the ship - and enormous tanks were welded onto its side and filled with water to act as ballast.
'We completed the parbuckling operation a few minutes ago the way we thought it would happen and the way we hoped it would happen,' said Franco Porcellacchia, project manager for the Concordia's owner, Costa Crociere Spa.
'A perfect operation, I must say.'
No environmental spill has been detected so far, he said. Applause rang out among firefighters in the tent where the engineers made the announcement.
An hour later, Nick Sloane, the South African chief salvage master, received a hero's welcome as he came ashore from the barge that had served as the floating command control room for the operation.

Lost hero: Russel Rebello, a married father-of-two from Mumbai, India had only been employed on the Costa Concordia for a few months as a waiter when the ship sank

Still missing: Russel Rebello was praised for his heroism in saving lives before he died when the cruise liner sank

Up close: Local residents and survivors said that there was an eerie feeling as the ship rose - and some said the sight reminded them of the tragedy

The operation continues: Workers on a boat sail past the Costa Concordia ship after it was lifted upright, on the Tuscan Island of Giglio, Italy

Inspection: Members of US company Titan Salvage and Italian firm Micoperi look at the damaged side of the wreckage of Italy's Costa Concordia cruise ship

Mission: Salvage experts started the rotation of the ship yesterday at around 9am, before the ship was finally laid to rest on an underwater mattress today at 4am

Difficult task: The Concordia's submerged side suffered significant damage during the 20 months it bore the weight of the ship on the jagged reef

Rusty: Salvage operators in Italy lifted the Costa Concordia cruise ship upright from its watery grave off the island of Giglio in the biggest ever project of its kind

Damage: The vessel is covered in rust and stained by the sea, while all the windows which were submerged in Giglio harbour, Italy, have been shattered

Smashed: Damaged windows of the wreckage of Italy's Costa Concordia cruise ship near the harbour of Giglio Porto

Brought up: The Costa Concordia ship is seen after it was lifted upright, on the Tuscan Island of Giglio, Italy, this morning

Back up: As the ship rose from the depths, decks which have been underwater for 20 months since the ship went down with the loss of 32 lives, became visible

Wreck: The previously sunken side of the Costa Concordia is covered in rust and stained by the sea while all the windows are shattered

Detail: The Costa Concordia vessel is covered in rust and stained by the sea while all the windows which were submerged are shattered

Momentous occasion: A foghorn sounded across the harbour of Giglio Porto as 4am this morning to mark the moment the Costa Concordia completed its 65 degree rotation

Breaking dawn: The upright wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship can be seen as the sun rises over Giglio in Italy this morning

As day breaks: The Costa Concordia cruise liner is seen after it was lifted upright, on the Tuscan Island of Giglio, Italy, early Tuesday morning

Picture perfect: The ship was wrenched from its side where it capsized last year off Tuscany, with officials declaring it a 'perfect' end to a daring engineering feat

'Brilliant! Perfetto,' Sloane said, using some of the Italian he has learned over the past year on Giglio preparing for Tuesday's operation.
'It was a struggle, a bit of a roller coaster. But for the whole team it was fantastic.'
The Concordia slammed into a reef off Giglio Island on January 13, 2012, after the captain brought it too close to shore.
The cruise ship drifted, listed and capsized just off the island's port, killing 32 people.

Standing straight: The Costa Concordia after it was lifted upright, on the Tuscan Island of Giglio, Italy, in the early hours Tuesday morning

Close up: The crippled cruise ship was pulled completely upright early Tuesday morning after a 19-hour operation to wrench it from its side. Officials declaring it a 'perfect' end to a daring and unprecedented engineering feat

Complicated operation: Salvage workers attempt to raise the cruise ship last night by 'parbuckling' - rotating the ship by a series of cables and hydraulic machines

Surveying the damage: The severely damaged side of the stricken Costa Concordia is visible after the parbuckling operation successfully put the cruise ship upright this morning

Steady progress: Engineers managed to raise the ship 25 degrees during the course of the day and said they hoped things would get easier as gravity starts to take effect

Carefully watched: Every minute of the lengthy operation has been followed by the world's media, pictured, who have descended on Giglio and camped out overnight

Engineers are now using remote controls to carefully open valves to let seawater start filling huge ballast tanks that had been welded onto the already exposed side so the weight of the water in the tanks helped pull the cruise liner up much faster

Giglio was hit by an electrical storm yesterday which delayed the start of the winching by three hours and it was a further three hours before the huge system of pulleys, counterweights and chains eased the cruise liner free.
The salvage operation involved engineers using the technique known as 'parbuckling', rotating the vessel using a series of cables and hydraulic machines.

‘After applying 6,000 tons of force, we saw the detachment of the ship from the reef,’ said engineering chief Sergio Girotto.

In an unprecedented maritime salvage operation, engineers on Monday gingerly wrestled the hull of the shipwrecked Costa Concordia off the Italian reef where the cruise ship has been stuck since January 2012

Losing light: As work continues into the night the top desk is now almost entirely visible above the waves for the first time since January 2012

Engineers inspect parts of Costa Concordia which have lain underwater for nearly two years - the salvage operation was underway yesterday off the coast of Giglio island

Emerging from the depths: The distinctive marks and broken windows show exactly where the water level stopped even as it is gradually turned upright

The capsized Costa Concordia liner is pictured several hours in to the £500m operation to right the vessel which is involving engineers from 24 different countries

The shipwrecked cruise Costa Concordia before the start of parbucking (top) and after the salvage work starts (bottom), showing the rusty yellowish-stain (circled) where it at rested, during the ongoing operation in Giglio

The rusty yellowish-stain line on the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship after (L) and before (R) it was slowly lifted during salvage works

The line of rust, left, shows the progress of efforts to move the enormous ship and right, taken 92 minutes after the top picture, the bottom image shows the painfully slow process of lifting the Costa Concordia off its side

Winching the liner upright was expected to take up to 12 hours, but a threat of tangles in the steel cables last night delayed the operation, which was eventually completed after 19 hours.
The final phase of the rotation went remarkably fast as gravity began to kick in and pull the ship toward its normal vertical position.
Parbuckling is a standard operation to right capsized ships. But never before had it been used on such a huge cruise liner. The Concordia is expected to be floated away from Giglio in the spring and turned into scrap.
Sloane said an initial inspection of the starboard side, covered in brown slime from its 20 months underwater while the ship was stuck on a rocky seabed perch, indicated serious damage that must be fixed in the coming weeks and months. The damage he said was caused by both the capsizing and the operation to rotate the ship.

A general view shows the shipwrecked cruise Costa Concordia before(R) and during (L) the salvage work, showing the rusty yellowish-stain where it at rested, during the ongoing operation in Giglio island The Concordia was lying on its side on an underwater reef. An underwater platform was built on which the ship will come to rest as a system of jacks and cables haul it upright

Dozens of crank-like pulleys slowly rotated the ship upright at a rate of about 3 metres per hour, while steel chains weighing 17,000 tons have been looped under the vessel to help pull it upright

The deck of the liner was revealed as the salvage operation continued throughout the afternoon yesterday - by lunchtime the ship had been tilted back three degrees, with 62 degrees to go

Engineers from around the world have worked to attach cables to water tanks ('caissons') on the port side of the ship to pull it upright and then keep it afloat

Slowly, the submerged part of the ship was winched above water three hours into the salvage operation - but there was no sign yet of the two people still missing Islanders on Giglio are delighted to see the operation to 'parbuckle' (set straight) the Costa Concordia is finally underway, 20 months after the liner sank off the coast

This shot shows the scale of the operation to right the half-submerged vessel - the water-filled caissons and pulley system can be seen on the right of the shot

The 114,000-tonne cruise liner's swimming pools could be seen on the deck as the Italian cruise ship was slowly rotated in the £500m salvage operation yesterday

Massive operation: Work is now underway to right the stricken Costa Concordia liner, 20 months after it hit a reef and sank off the coast of Tuscany, at a cost of 32 lives

Journalists and residents on the picturesque fishing island watch this morning as the salvage operation gets underway - islanders are keen to get the ship moved

Hundreds of cables are attached to caissons - metal tanks on the side of the ship filled with water that are being used as ballast to winch the vessel upright

The sun rose over the Tuscan coast yesterday morning as engineers prepared to launch the largest and most expensive rescue operation in maritime history

Delicate operation: The engineers working to right the ship hope it can be towed ashore next spring and dismantled for scrap

Members of the US salvage firm Titan and Italian firm Micoperi work on the wreck of the Costa Concordia near Giglio Porto yesterday morning after the delayed operation began

A raft of vessels was in place outside Giglio harbour yesterday to assist with what is the biggest and most expensive maritime rescue operation in history

'We have to do a really detailed inspection of the damage,' to determine how to shore it up so it can withstand towing.
But he seemed confident: 'She was strong enough to come up like this, she's strong enough to be towed.'
The island was crowded yesterday with people watching the spectacle. Its harbour, Giglio Porto, was closed to the public but dozens surveyed the scene from the cliffs.
Residents of the tiny island of Giglio expressed their delight at the shadow of the disaster finally being lifted.
‘We are still in shock from that night,’ said Assunta Schiafino, a cafe worker, who remembers the terror of the 4,000 passengers made to abandon the listing ship in the dark. ‘There were thousands of them here on the port and all our doors were open to help them. It changed all our lives for ever.'
Annaretta Badari and Virgini Feramola from Reggio Emiglia in northern Italy have been holidaying on the island for 20 years, but were put off after the shipwreck. They came back to watch the salvage operation.
‘It’s caused enormous anguish for people here,’ said Mrs Badari. ‘I hope that they manage to take it away and that they find something off the two missing people. We will pray for the relatives.’

Concordia survivor returns to the site of tragedy

The starboard side of the ship, which was raised 65 degrees in the operation, must now be stabilized to enable crews to attach empty tanks on the side that will later be used to help float the vessel away.
It must also be made strong enough to withstand the winter storm season, when high seas and gusts will likely buffet the 115,000-ton, 300-metre (1,000-foot) long liner.
After receiving cheers, embraces and a kiss from his wife on shore, Sloane said he wanted to get some sleep, a beer 'and maybe a barbeque tomorrow'.
'I think the whole team is proud of what they achieved,' he said as he was mobbed by well-wishers and television crews.
Helping the Concordia to weather the winter is an artificial platform on the seabed that was constructed to support the ship's flat keel. 'The ship is resting on its platform,' Gabrielli said.
About an hour before the rotation was complete, observers said the boat seemed to suddenly settle down on its new perch.

Residents on the small fishing island are keen to see the ship righted and towed away - it has lain offshore for 20 months now and they see it as a depressing blot on their picturesque landscape

The operation to raise the Costa Concordia began at 8am UK time yesterday after it was delayed by fierce electrical storms that hit the island of Giglio overnight

The deck of the boat - including one of its swimming pools, left, could be seen by onlookers onshore as the vessel was slowly raised

Fierce and unexpected electrical storms overnight had cleared the skies ahead of the rescue operation - engineers will use a technique called 'parbuckling' to raise the ship

Workers have put anti-pollution floating barriers around the shipwreck, designed to absorb any toxic waste that might leak as it it raised - but Greenpeace say such barriers will not prevent pollution

Mayor Sergio Ortelli said the island felt a wave of relief as soon as the Concordia was freed from the reef in the initial hours of the operation. But he said there was also the realisation that two bodies have yet to be found, with a fresh search to be launched now.
The Concordia's captain is on trial for alleged manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning the ship during the chaotic and delayed evacuation.
Captain Francesco Schettino claims the reef wasn't on the nautical charts for the liner's week-long Mediterranean cruise.
It emerged yesterday afternoon that Schettino, who was at the command of the ship when it ran aground, is not on the island for the historic righting of his liner.
Schettino, universally known as Captain Coward after allegedly abandoning ship with 300 passengers still aboard, is reportedly at his home near Naples, preparing for his trial which will resume on September 23 and refusing even to speak to friends.
Carlo Sassi, Schettino’s spokesman told the Italian news agency ANSA: ‘He is not even talking to me. It’s months since we last spoke. He doesn’t call me any more. He doesn’t want to listen any more - perhaps it is the new defensive line of his new legal team.’
Costa is a division of Miami-based Carnival Corp., the world's largest cruise company.

Engineers worked on the bow of the Costa Concordia this morning ahead of the massive salvage operation - workers from 24 countries are involved in the project

The team in charge of the salvage operation was keen to move the shipwreck before the autumn storms arrived and broke it up even more

This is the biggest such maritime salvage operation ever undertaken, and engineers are hoping the ship will not splinter or leak toxic materials as it is winched upright

The Costa Concordia's progress is being watched by residents on the fishing island of Giglio - the presence of the stricken craft has been an unhappy reminder of the tragedy last January and locals are glad to see the wreck go

Next spring, when engineers hope to float the ship away, they will gradually empty the water tanks until the ship is buoyant enough to float away, with the empty tanks on each side acting as a giant pair of water wings.
Officials are predicting a massive ‘burp’ of noxious gases as the ship is lifted and air-bubbles beneath the surface are released.
Civil protection engineer Francesco Campopiano said ‘There is a hypothesis that due to the decomposition of organic matter, sulphurous gases will be released that will smell like rotting eggs.
'Imagine you had meat in the refrigerator and left it for a week. That’s what it will smell like.'
Fuel was siphoned out of the ship soon after it sank, but there still remains fuel and toxic waste on board, so an absorbent barrier has been placed around the ship to catch any leaks during the salvage operation.
Despite ecologists' fears, no major pollution has been detected in the waters near the ship so far, but campaigners have warned that even in the best case scenario, the pollution equivalent to a small town would be emitted during the parbuckling operation.

South African Nick Sloane, 52, is the senior salvage master for Titan, the American salvage company which, together with Italian firm Micoperi, is charged with raising the stricken vessel and towing it back to shore

Italian Admiral Stefano Tortora is overseeing the massive rescue operation off the coast of the Tuscan island of Giglio

Workers stand in front of the Costa Concordia lying on its side in the Mediterranean yesterday morning, shortly before the salvage operation began

An underwater platform has been built on which the 114,00-tonne ship will come to rest as jacks and underwater cables haul it upright in the rescue operation

According to official figures a perfect parbuckling operation will still cause the at-sea dispersion of 80,000 cubic metres of liquid, a third of those currently contained in the vessel.
Alessandro Giannì, campaigns director of Greenpeace Italy, said: ‘We are rooting for everything to go well. But we have to be realistic. These liquids, which have become ever more toxic over the 20 months inside the ship, include tonnes of organic substances and other potentially carcinogenic chemicals: adhesives, detergents, flame retardants.
'It's as if you accidentally discharged the sewage and furnishings of a town of five thousand inhabitants into the sea.'
'Even in the best-case scenario the pollution equivalent to small town would be emitted. It’s difficult to say how long it will take to get back to normality: Exxon mobile took 20 years.
However, engineers have dismissed as 'remote' the possibility that the Concordia might break apart and no longer be sound enough to be towed to the mainland to be turned into scrap.

Reporters from around the world gathered at Giglio harbour to watch the massive salvage operation of the Costa Concordia - engineers said it would be at least an hour before any visible movement

Sergio Ortelli, the mayor of Giglio, said residents of the island were keen to see the ship removed.
He said the stricken ship lying offshore was a problem they wanted 'to solve as soon as we can', and added: 'Islanders can't wait to see the back of it.'
Residents of the fishing island have watched for more than a year from the shore as cranes and barges have moved into place to try to remove the hulk from their port.
Some gathered this morning on a breakwater to witness the operation getting underway, and the local paper headline read 'We're Holding Our Breath'
The ship has been marooned and half-sunk off the coast of Tuscany for 20 months, and footage filmed by divers shows the former deck where passengers once sunbathed turned on its side, with dinner plates, cutlery, shoes and sun loungers scattered across the seabed.
Thirty-two people died when the ship, with 4,200 passengers and crew onboard, hit rocks and ran aground off the island of Giglio after an ill-judged 'salute' to inhabitants by the ship’s captain.
The USS Oklahoma was parbuckled by the US military in 1943 after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, but the 1,000ft Concordia has been described as the largest cruise ship ever to capsize and subsequently require the complex rotation.

Haunting images taken by divers' video cameras show the ship's rooms, complete with mirrors, hairdryers and other items used by the ship's 4,200 passengers before it sank in January 2012

Chairs covered with tablecloths lie on the seabed close to the Italian island of Giglio where the Costa Concordia has lain for a year-and-a-half - 32 people lost their lives in the disaster

Underwater cameras capture inside Costa Concordia debris

Four Costa Concordia crew members and a Costa Cruises company official were sentenced to jail in July for their part in the accident, and the ship's captain Francesco Schettino (above) remains on trial for manslaughter and causing the loss of the ship

Passengers onboard the cruise ship Costa Concordia wait to be evacuated after it ran aground off the island of Giglio last year - of the 4,200 people aboard, 32 died

This aerial view of the Costa Concordia gives an idea of the scale of the operation facing the Italian and American engineers tasked with raising the huge ship from the seabed

COSTA CONCORDIA TRAGEDY: THE FACTS AND FIGURES

The Costa Concordia cruise liner hit a reef off the Italian island of Giglio on the night of 13 January 2012 after its captain, Francesco Schettino, had deviated from the ship's course to make an unplanned salute to the islanders.
There were 4,252 passengers and crew on board from countries around the world on what should have been the first leg of a cruise around the Mediterranean, starting from Civitavecchia in Lazio.
When the ship hit the reef the crashing sound could be heard, and it cut a 230ft long gash in the ship's hull, letting seawater rush in and making the vessel tilt so dramatically that many of the lifeboats on one side could not be launched.

This picture, taken this morning, shows engineers beginning their operation to right the stricken cruise ship that sank with the loss of 32 lives in January last year

There was a temporary power blackout on board as water flooded the engine room, and as the ship listed over, many people jumped into the water to swim for shore, while others were rescued by lifeboat and helicopters.
The ship's captain decided not to call Giglio harbour for emergency help initially - instead, he tried to reverse the vessel's course, and only eventually ordered evacuation after an hour when the ship grounded after listing in the water.
Meanwhile passengers had already called emergency services and in the ensuing six-hour rescue operation, most people were safely brought to shore. Thirty-two died and two are still unaccounted for - engineers working to right the ship today are hoping to locate the two bodies in the wreckage.
Dubbed 'Italy's most hated man' and 'Captain Coward', Schettino is currently on trial over charges of multiple manslaughter, abandoning ship and causing a shipwreck. He claims the reef he hit wasn't on the nautical charts for the cruise.
Costa Concordia was operated by Costa Cruises, which offered €11,000 compensation to each passenger - a third of them have so far taken up this offer.

 Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2421734/Costa-Concordia-divers-begin-grim-task-hunting-2-missing-bodies.html#ixzz2gZjSnL3L
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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2421734/Costa-Concordia-divers-begin-grim-task-hunting-2-missing-bodies.html#ixzz2gZjSnL3L
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook