Rome ( CNN ) -- Salvage experts outlined their plan Friday to raise the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise liner from the sea floor off Italy in one piece and tow it from the disaster site . The complicated operation is expected to start in the next few days and take up to a year , the ship 's owner , Costa Cruises , said in Rome . It will be a joint effort by Titan Salvage , an American-owned specialist marine salvage and wreck removal company , and Italian marine contractor Micoperi . Capt . Richard Habib , president of Titan Salvage , said it was an `` unprecedented '' operation . `` It is not impossible . It is entirely possible . It will be successful , and we believe that our plan will work , '' he said when asked whether there was a backup plan . At least 30 people died when the cruise liner struck rocks and turned on its side off the Italian island of Giglio on January 13 . Costa Cruises announces new safety initiatives . The search for two people who remain missing will continue alongside the removal operation , said Franco Gabrielli , head of the Italian Civil Protection agency . The 30 bodies recovered have all been identified . The ship can not stay in its current position , as it represents a danger for the environment , he added . `` The plan to re-float the hull in one piece gives top priority to minimising environmental impact , to protecting Giglio 's economy and tourism industry , and to maximum safety of the work , '' Costa Cruises said in a statement . `` Once removal is complete , the sea bottom will be cleaned and marine flora replanted . '' The operation will be divided into four basic stages , Costa said in its statement . First , once the ship has been stabilized , an underwater platform will be built and watertight boxes , or caissons , fixed to the side of the ship that is above water . Two cranes fixed to the platform will pull the ship upright , helped by the weight of the caissons , which will be filled with water . When the ship is upright , caissons will be fixed to the other side of the hull to stabilize it . Finally , the caissons on both sides will be emptied , after the water inside has been purified to protect the marine environment , and filled with air , Costa said . Once the giant ship has been refloated , it will be towed to an Italian port , probably in Tuscany , to be dismantled and disposed of according to local regulations . No exact cost was given by the officials who presented details of the recovery operation . But a Costa Cruises representative said that the figure would probably be about $ 300 million . Costa said efforts to prevent damage to Giglio 's tourism industry would include housing workers involved in the recovery operation on the mainland . Equipment will also be stored there . The Concordia 's captain , Francesco Schettino , is being investigated for possible criminal charges and remains under house arrest . He faces allegations of manslaughter , causing a shipwreck , abandoning ship , failing to report an accident to the coast guard and destroying a natural habitat , a prosecutor said this year . Giglio is a protected park . Schettino 's first officer , Ciro Ambrosio , and six other officers both on the ship and from the firm Costa in Genoa are under investigation over allegations including manslaughter , shipwreck and failure to report the accident , the prosecutor in the case has said . No one has been charged over the shipwreck . CNN 's Hada Messia and Claudia Rebaza contributed to this report .
The cruise ship will be refloated and towed away , American and Italian officials say . The Costa Concordia struck rocks and turned on its side in water . At least 30 people died in the accident , with two people still missing . Costa says its priority in recovering the ship is to protect the local environment .