Story highlights Costa Concordia ran aground off Giglio in January 2012, killing 32 people

Bodies of two victims may still be inside the rotting 952-foot wreck

Divers call inside of ship a "toxic stew" of spilled oil, rotting food and floating tableware

The nautical blue paint spelling out "Costa Concordia" has almost all bubbled and chipped off the bow of the once luxurious cruise liner after 20 months under salt water off the Italian island of Giglio.

One can get glimpse of just what it's like in and under the Concordia by the vast array of mesmerizing underwater videos released by Italy's coast guard and the Titan Micoperi salvage team tasked with removing the rusting hulk.

The seabed is still littered with sun deck chairs that floated from the ship's balconies and upper deck when it finally came to a rest in January 2012. Fish swim around the sunbed legs and seaweed has grown through some of the mesh seating. The beds are spread out in a surreal scene that looks like a set from an underwater science fiction film. Shoes, mattresses, dinner plates and thousands of pieces of cutlery shimmer in the divers' lights on a bed of sea grass.

Divers have not been deep inside the massive ship for nearly a year. The salvage divers only work on the outside of the ship and do not have authority to enter the vessel, with the exception of a work area they have created with a false floor on the upper port side deck, unless accompanied by Coast Guard divers.

Not only is the Concordia still chock full of passengers' possessions the Costa Cruises company hopes to return, but the ship is still considered a crime scene. Thirty-two people died in the accident and the ship's erstwhile captain, Francesco Schettino, is facing charges of multiple manslaughter and causing the shipwreck after piloting the 290-meter ship into the rocks on Giglio last year.

Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – The refloated wreck of the Costa Concordia is towed to the Italian port of Genoa on Sunday, July 27, to be scrapped, ending the ship's final journey two and a half years after it capsized at a cost of 32 lives. Hide Caption 1 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – The Concordia is towed into the port of Genoa on July 27. Hide Caption 2 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Tugboats tow the wreck of the Costa Concordia as it leaves Italy's Giglio Island on Wednesday, July 23. Hide Caption 3 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – A view from a porthole shows the wreck of the Costa Concordia as it's being towed on July 23. It'll take about two years to dismantle the massive cruise liner.

Hide Caption 4 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – The Costa Concordia cruise ship sits in front of the harbor of Giglio Island after it was refloated using air tanks attached to its sides on Tuesday, July 22. Environmental concerns prompted the decision to undertake the expensive and difficult process of refloating the ship rather than taking it apart on site. Hide Caption 5 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – The ship's name appears above the water on Monday, July 21. The ship is expected to arrive in Genoa on Sunday, August 27. Hide Caption 6 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Tugboats pull the Costa Concordia after the first stage of the refloating operation on Wednesday, July 16. Hide Caption 7 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – A small boat passes by the wreckage on Tuesday, July 15. Hide Caption 8 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Water is expelled from the caissons hooked onto the Costa Concordia on Monday, July 14. The ship will be towed north to the port in Genoa, Italy. Hide Caption 9 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Thirty-two people died when the 114,000-ton vessel, seen here on July 14, ran aground off Giglio in January 2012. Hide Caption 10 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – In December 2013, crews managed to rotate the ship into an upright position. Hide Caption 11 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – To float the ship, seen here on Thursday, June 26, crews attached 30 steel tanks to fill with compressed air. Hide Caption 12 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Ship captain Francesco Schettino, left, returned to the Concordia in February for the first time since he ran the liner aground. He is on trial on charges of manslaughter, causing a maritime disaster and abandoning ship with passengers still on board. He denies wrongdoing. Hide Caption 13 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Experts inspect the ship's damage in January. They boarded the vessel to collect new evidence, focusing on the ship's bridge and the onboard elevators. Hide Caption 14 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – The wreckage of the Costa Concordia cruise ship sits near the harbor of Giglio on Tuesday, September 17, after a salvage crew rolled the ship off its side Hide Caption 15 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – The ship had been lying on its side for 20 months off the island of Giglio. Here, members of the U.S. company Titan Salvage and the Italian marine contractor Micoperi pass by the wreckage. Hide Caption 16 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Damage to the right side of the ship is apparent in September. Hide Caption 17 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Using a vast system of steel cables and pulleys, maritime engineers work on Monday, September 16, to hoist the ship's massive hull off the reef where it capsized. Hide Caption 18 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – The project to upright the Costa Concordia continues on September 16. The nearly $800 million effort reportedly is the largest maritime salvage operation ever. Hide Caption 19 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – A water line marks the former level of the stricken Costa Concordia as the salvaging operation continues on September 16. The procedure, known as parbuckling, has never been carried out on a vessel as large as Costa Concordia before. Hide Caption 20 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Members of Titan and Micoperi work at the wreck site early on September 16. Hide Caption 21 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Technicians work to salvage the half-submerged ship in July 2013. Hide Caption 22 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Giant hollow boxes have been attached to the side of the ship, seen here in May 2013. Attempts to refloat the ship will be aided by the compartments. Hide Caption 23 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – A commemorative plaque honoring the victims of the cruise disaster is unveiled in Giglio on January 14, 2013. Hide Caption 24 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Survivors, grieving relatives and locals release lanterns into the sky in Giglio after a minute of silence on January 13, 2013, marking the one-year anniversary of the shipwreck. The 32 lanterns -- one for each of the victims -- were released at 9:45 p.m. local time, the moment of impact. Hide Caption 25 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – A man holds an Italian flag on his balcony overlooking the port of Giglio on January 13, 2013. Hide Caption 26 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – A man works in front of the shipwreck on January 12, 2013. Hide Caption 27 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – A couple walks along the port of Giglio at night on January 12, 2013. Hide Caption 28 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – A man sits in his boat in front of the half-submerged cruise ship on January 8, 2013. Hide Caption 29 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Cranes and floating decks surrounding the ship light up the dusk sky on January 9, 2013. Hide Caption 30 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Workers stand on the edge of the ship on January 8, 2013. Hide Caption 31 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – A crew passes by the hulking remains on January 7, 2013. Hide Caption 32 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – People enjoy a day in the sun with a view of the cruise liner on July 1, 2012. Hide Caption 33 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Military rescue workers approach the cruise liner on January 22, 2012. Hide Caption 34 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Members of the Italian coast guard conduct a search-and-rescue mission on January 21, 2012. Hide Caption 35 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Rescue operations to search for missing people resumed on January 20, 2012, after being suspended for a third time as conditions caused the vessel to shift on the rocks. Hide Caption 36 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – The Costa Serena, the sister ship of the wrecked Costa Concordia, passes by on January 18, 2012. Hide Caption 37 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – A bird flies overhead the Costa Concordia on January 18, 2012. Rescue operations were suspended as the ship slowly sank farther into the sea. Hide Caption 38 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – The ship was sailing a few hundred meters off the rocky Tuscan coastline. Hide Caption 39 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – An Italian coast guard helicopter flies over Giglio's harbor on January 16, 2012. Hide Caption 40 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Rescuers search the waters near the stricken ship on January 16, 2012. Hide Caption 41 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – The Concordia, pictured on January 15, 2012, was on a Mediterranean cruise from Rome when it hit rocks off the coast of Giglio. Hide Caption 42 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – The ship starts keeling over early on January 14, 2012. Evacuation efforts started promptly but were made "extremely difficult" by the position of the listing ship, officials said. Hide Caption 43 of 44 Photos: Photos: The Costa Concordia disaster The Costa Concordia disaster – Rescued passengers arrive at Porto Santo Stefano, Italy, on January 14, 2012. The Costa Concordia was carrying 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members. Hide Caption 44 of 44

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The last divers to comb through the Concordia's sunken bowels were there to search in vain for the last two victims, still believed to be trapped somewhere under the ship or buried in a watery grave at the bottom of the hollow hull. The salvage crew believe they know about where the bodies might be found, but there is no guarantee until the ship is lifted whether they will be found at all.

In the weeks after the accident, the divers called the inside of the ship a "toxic stew" of spilled oil, rotting food and floating tableware. There were five massive restaurants on the ship -- each one in operation when the ship crashed at 9:42 p.m. on January 13, 2013, spilling tables of buffet food into the water. More than a dozen kitchens and freezers had enough food to feed the 4,200 passengers and crew for a week, plus extra supplies that all cruise ships carry in case of emergencies and delays. Many of the freezers burst and their contents were gobbled up by sea life and the colony of sea gulls that has multiplied on the island since the disaster.

Fishermen off Giglio say that the fish have changed, too. They are much larger and harder to catch after gorging on the ship's offerings. The freezers that have not burst under the water pressure are still locked with their rotting thawed contents sealed inside. Fridges too, filled with milk, cheese, eggs and vegetables, have been closed tight since the disaster. One has to only imagine leaving a home freezer -- a fraction of the size of the industrial freezers used by cruise ships -- unplugged for 20 months to get an idea of the type of rancid mess trapped inside.

Rodolfo Raiteri, head of the Coast Guard dive team, told CNN that his divers had to confront an array of deep-sea threats, from floating knives to lethal bed sheets and flowing curtains that could have easily become entangled in the divers' safety cords. There were also floating chairs and large chunks of marble and crystal chandeliers that constantly detached and fell from the sideways ship's ceilings every time the ship creaked and shifted as it settled onto two underwater rocky mountain peaks. All that debris, along with thousands of dinner plates, can be seen stacked against the underwater windows in some of the salvage video.

The ship has compressed three full meters in the 20 months since it crashed, and each time it groans and twists, windows break as their frames adjust and once-attached items are lodged free. On cruise ships, dining room tables are all affixed to the floors to keep passengers from chasing sliding tables in rough seas. Raiteri described the bizarre scene his divers faced swimming among the sideways tables, sometimes encountering plates of food and floating champagne bottles in their search for victims.

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Senior cabin service director Manrico Giampedroni, one of the last survivors to be pulled out of the wreckage alive, became trapped half submerged in the ship's dining room when his leg got caught among fallen furniture. He survived for 36 hours on floating food and stayed awake by drinking caffeinated beverages until rescuers found him. If he had fallen asleep, he would have drowned. Incidentally, Giampedroni was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter in a plea bargain for his role in the deaths for not being at his duty station to help evacuate the ship.

In addition to the general rule of thumb that you don't blow up ships where there are still unrecovered victims, one of the main reasons the Concordia is being refloated rather than blown up or dismantled on site is because of the toxins and personal effects still trapped in the ship's 1,500 staterooms. The ship's engines are still thick with lubricants and the kitchens are still filled with cooking oils and non-soluble materials that would pollute the sea.

Giglio, which lies within the Pelagos Sanctuary, the largest protected marine wildlife park in the Mediterranean, is flush with exotic sea life and coral reefs. The putrid stew inside the ship's 17 deck-structure will eventually have to be purified or pumped out before the ship is refloated sometime next year, and the personal effects are another matter.

All that was in the Concordia the moment it wrecked is presumably still there, save the ship's bell, which mysteriously disappeared two months after the wreck based on surveillance video taken by authorized divers. An investigation into who could have stolen the bell has caused some concern that other items, especially high price items from the ship's gift shops, could have also been pilfered. Everything inside the ship is expected to be recovered and returned to its original owners, no matter how water-logged it may be, but that could be months from now when the ship is eventually towed and dry docked for dismantling.

Each of the cabins has a locked safe, presumably still filled with passengers' valuables including cash and jewelry. There are also countless cameras, laptops, iPads and cellphones that passengers left behind, not to mention luggage. The ship had only been at sail for three hours, so many passengers likely didn't take time to unpack, but instead headed to the nearest dining room or bar to relax as the ship set sail. One suitcase floated to the nearby island of Elba and its soggy contents were delivered to the owner nine months after the disaster. Many more suitcases have been spotted by divers at the bottom of the sea.

Nick Sloane, the head of the salvage operation for Titan Micoperi, the joint American-Italian venture to rescue the Concordia,, says that if explosives were used, the ship's smaller contents would become dangerous projectiles. "Mattresses and passports would scatter the sea," he says. But the real danger would be flying cutlery, cooking knives, bottles and broken glass.

If the "parbuckling" goes well and the giant 114,000-ton vessel is tipped upright sometime in the next week, much more than the 65 percent of the ship that is under water now will be submerged. The platforms that will provide a base on which the Concordia will rest are some 30 meters below the sea level, meaning many of the staterooms that were dry until now will sink underwater. Some of the toxic water will be displaced and pushed out of the upper cabins. Some freezers that are still sealed could burst under new water pressure. And almost every window on the ship's outer cabins is expected to break as the ship's frame twists.

Sloane says the noise will be deafening as metal twists and windows pop. The ship has been rigged with cameras and microphones to help the salvage crew monitor the ship's structure as it is lifted. As Sloane says, ships this size were never meant to lie on their sides, and they are not built to be lifted. The salvage team says they will be able to contain any spillage of toxins with oil booms now in place around the work site. The broken glass and new debris will join what is already at the bottom of the sea.

There will never be the scale of environmental disaster that was already averted by removing the ship's 2,400 tons of fuel shortly after the ship crashed, but there are still major risks involved with salvaging the Concordia. If the parbuckling fails and the ship breaks apart as it is rotated, the rotten contents -- moldy mattresses, passports, toxic stew and all -- will spill into the once-pristine sea. And even if it succeeds, this part of the Mediterranean will never be quite the same again.