A contract to refloat the capsized cruiseship Costa Concordia has been won by a partnership of Titan Salvage of the US and Italian offshore constructor, Micoperi.

The salvage operation said to be worth $288m is expected to take about a year and is scheduled to begin in early May.

The gash a rocky grounding caused to the Costa Concordia's hull.
Titan faced strong competition for the contract to raise the 114,000-gt Costa