Italy Begins Salvaging Cruise Ship Fuel

Costa Concordia believed to hold 500K gallons of heavy fuel oil
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 12, 2012 12:53 PM CST
Italy Begins Salvaging Cruise Ship Fuel
Snow covers houses overlooking the harbor of the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, as the grounded Costa Concordia lies in background.   (AP Photo/Paolo Fanciulli)

Italian officials have begun operations to salvage some 500,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil from the stricken Costa Concordia cruise ship, reports the BBC. Dutch salvage company Smit is performing the operation, which has been delayed by bad weather and the search for survivors; the salvage is expected to take 28 days. "We expect the next five days to be good weather, and we will work 24 hours a day to pump out the fuel," says Smit's salvage master. "Hopefully by the end of the week we will have the majority out." Some 15 tanks are believed to hold 84% of the fuel aboard, notes the AP. (More Costa Concordia stories.)

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