After a 19-hour feat, the Costa Concordia cruise ship has been righted in what has been labeled as the biggest and most expensive salvage operation in history. The goal, attained by a team of 500 engineers and technicians headed by Nick Sloane, was to raise the ship from its side by 65 degrees to a vertical position for eventual towing. A foghorn sounded shortly after 4 am on Tuesday to signal that the operation had been completed successfully. Below is a series of photos showing the Costa Concordia, which remained capsized in the waters off the Island of Giglio for 20 months, before and after the parbuckling operation.
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Here's a one-minute timelapse footage of the Costa Concordia salvage operation:
