( CNN ) -- Removing the wrecked cruise liner Costa Concordia from the coastal waters off an Italian island will begin in May and take about a year , the ship 's owner said . `` Once returned to a floating state , the wreck will be towed to an Italian port , '' Costa Cruises said in a news release . A decision on what to do with the ship after it has been towed will be up to Italian authorities , according to Pier Luigi Foschi , chairman of Costa Cruises . U.S.-based Titan Salvage of Florida and Micoperi , an Italy-based salvage , have been selected to recover and tow away the Concordia , Costa said . The announcement Saturday by Costa follows news that the bodies of all but two of the 32 people presumed dead in the wreck have been recovered . The cruise liner struck rocks and turned on its side January 13 off the Italian island of Giglio . Recovery teams spent weeks searching the submerged decks and cabins for those who failed to escape the sinking vessel . The liner , owned by Genoa-based Costa Cruises , was carrying about 3,200 passengers and 1,000 crew members when it struck the rocks . The Concordia 's captain , Francesco Schettino , remains under house arrest while he is investigated for possible criminal charges . He faces possible charges of manslaughter , causing a shipwreck , abandoning ship , failing to report an accident to the coast guard and destroying a natural habitat , a prosecutor said last month . A portion of Giglio 's coastal waters is designated as a protected marine habitat . 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 said . To date , no one has been charged . Schettino previously said managers of the Costa cruise line instructed him to sail close to the island and has denied allegations that he was sailing too fast . He has said the rock the ship struck was not indicated on his charts of the area . CNN 's Marilia Brocchetto contributed to this report .
Construction companies from the U.S. and Italy will begin work next week . ` ` Once returned to a floating state , the wreck will be towed to an Italian port , '' Costa says . The salvage process is expected to last a year , the cruise line said . The Costa Concordia struck rocks on January 13 off the coast of Giglio .