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February 1st, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda Officials have called off the search for missing people in the submerged part of the sunken ship. NBC’s Brian Williams reports.
Italy’s Civil Protection agency said Tuesday that technical studies indicated that the deformed hull of the ship created too many safety concerns to continue the search. It said in a statement that relatives and diplomatic officials representing the countries of the missing have been informed of the decision.
A spokeswoman for Civil Protection, Francesca Maffini, stressed that the search for the missing would continue wherever possible, including on the part of the ship above the water, in the waters surrounding the ship and along the nearby coastline.
The Concordia ran aground off the island of Giglio on Jan. 13 when the captain deviated from his planned route and struck a reef, creating a huge gash that capsized the ship.
The ship, precariously resting on one side, will likely be a part of the scenery off the Italian island of Giglio for the better part of a year.
The cruise line is considering bids for the ship’s removal and is expected to make a decision — based on method and costs — in two months, NBC News has learned. Actual removal could take up to 10 months.
Inclement weather over the weekend shut down search and salvage efforts at the site of the ship wreck off the Tuscan coast. High winds and rough seas delayed plans to begin pumping 500,000 gallons of fuel off the Concordia. That effort will likely continue midweek. A barge carrying pumping equipment that was attached to the capsized ship was withdrawn after strong winds and high waves worsened conditions for the divers working on the huge wreck.
The operation, aimed at preventing an environmental disaster in the pristine waters off a marine nature reserve, could take up to one month to complete.
Residents of Giglio have been circulating a petition to demand that officials provide more information on how the full-scale operations can co-exist with the important tourism season. At the moment, access to the port for private boats has been banned and all boats must stay at least one mile from the wrecked ship, affecting access to Giglio’s only harbor for fishermen, scuba divers and private boat owners.
“We are really sorry, we would have preferred to save them all. But now other needs and other problems arise,” said Franca Melils, a local business owner who is promoting a petition for the tourist season. “It’s about us, who work and make a living exclusively from tourism. We don’t have factories, we don’t have anything else.”
DigitalGlobe
The Costa Concordia, carrying more than 4,200 passengers, ran aground Jan. 13 off the coast of Italy. At least 15 people died in the accident, and rescuers continue to search for others missing.
Carnival Corp. said on Monday that it will take a hit between $155 million and $175 million against fiscal 2012 net income because of the Concordia wreck. In an annual report filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Carnival also said it significantly reduced its marketing activities after the wreck.
“Costa’s booking activity is difficult to interpret because of the significant re-booking activity stemming from the loss of the ship’s use and related re-deployments,” the company said. “However, we believe it to be down significantly. Despite these recent trends, we believe the incident will not have a significant long-term impact on our business.”
Related: Passengers on wrecked ship offered $14,460
The Concordia’s captain, Francesco Schettino, is under house arrest, suspected of causing the accident by steering too close to shore, and faces charges of multiple manslaughter and abandoning ship before the evacuation was complete.
The ship’s first officer, Ciro Ambrosio, has also been questioned by prosecutors but the company itself has not been implicated in the investigation at this stage.
NBC News, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Rough seas shut down cruise ship search, salvage efforts
- 17th body found on wrecked Italy cruise ship
- Captain says he was told to perform fatal maneuver
- Woman’s body found aboard stricken Italian cruise ship
- PhotoBlog: Madonna recovered from Costa Concordia
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