Costa Concordia reaches end of final voyage

costa-concordiaThe crippled Costa Concordia cruise ship reached the end of its final voyage.

Refloated by salvage crews earlier this month, the rusting hulk docked at Voltri port in the Italian city of Genoa early Sunday.

The cruise ship, which ran aground in January 2012 off Giglio Island with more than 4,200 passengers aboard, was eased into a dry dock at the port for salvage.

It managed to make the four-day journey in a convoy of vessels from Giglio to Genoa without major incident, despite one night of storms.

The ship will be searched for the remains of Russel Rebello, a 33-year-old waiter who is the only victim still missing in the tragedy. A total of 32 people were killed in the disaster.

Searches for Rebello are also underway in Giglio at the site where the ship had rested for the past 30 months.

The lengthy process of dismantling the wrecked ship is expected to take two years.

More than 80% of the Concordia will be recycled or reused, including copper wiring, plumbing pipes, kitchens and some of the plastic room fittings that can be repaired.

The remaining 50,000 tons of steel will be melted down and sold at the market price to be used to make construction girders, cars and even other ships.