The Costa Concordia, which ran aground off the Italian coast, is now sitting upright in shallow water.

Sometimes acts of engineering and technology can be simply amazing. This is one of those acts.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57603206/costa-concordia-pulled-completely-upright-off-italy/

The Costa Concordia ran into some rocks off an island near the Italian coast in January 2012. The wreck killed 32 people, with two individuals still listed as missing. It tipped over on its starboard (right) side, where it laid until this morning. Italian engineering crews took 19 hours to right the ship and begin the equally arduous task of now getting it ready to be towed to a dry dock where, I’m guessing, it’s going to repaired and prepared to set sail once again.

I’ve got to hand it to the Italian engineers and environmentalists who worked together on this project. There had been fear that toxic substances would spill into the Mediterranean Sea, which is why the environmentalists got involved.

The sheer size of the ship, more than 100,000 tons, made this a monumental ordeal.

Now comes the harder part: Prosecuting the captain of the ship who allegedly abandoned his post while the ship was taking on water and listing so severely it couldn’t be saved.

Capt. Francesco Schettino has been charged with manslaughter in the deaths of the passengers aboard his ship. As captain of the ship, everyone on board is his responsibility. Schettino’s excuses and denials seem ridiculously lame in hindsight. No doubt he’ll hire a good lawyer to defend him.

If they thought getting the Costa Concordia off its side was difficult, convicting this captain — who, from all that I’ve read was derelict in his duty — could present an even tougher challenge.