Two-and-a-half years after the Costa Concordia ran aground off the coast of Giglio, Italy, the ship is floating again. After getting the go-ahead, salvage crews worked to refloat the ship this morning so it can be moved to the port of Genoa to be dismantled. By midday Monday, the ship was floating, reports CNN.

The ship will now be towed to Genoa. It is expected to take five days to get the ship there — that is, if the bottom of the rotting ship doesn't give way. Once in Genoa, the ship will be covered with a tent and crews will work to dismantle and recycle the ship for an estimated 18 months.

Costa Crociere's Michael Tamm said the operation has already cost $1 billion, and will top $2 billion or more by the time it's done, says CNN. That's more than three times the $612 million than it cost to build in 2004.

Ten months ago, salvage teams managed to roll the 114,000-ton cruise ship off the rocks it capsized onto after hitting a reef in January 2012. The “righting” was one of the most complex shipwreck recovery efforts ever undertaken because of the ship's massisve size. The effort allowed crews to enter the ship and recover passengers' belongings and recover the remains of a missing passenger. One last passenger still remains missing.

Since the wreck, 24 metric tons of debris have been recovered from the seabed, says CNN. Meanwhile, Francesco Schettino, the ship's captain, is on trail on charges of manslaughter, causing a maritime disaster, and abandoning ship with passengers still on board. Thirty-two passengers were killed in the wreck.

Read more about the Costa Concordia salvage efforts from CNN HERE and HERE.

Special Reports /

Costa Concordia floating again, ready for dismantling in $2B recovery

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