Costa Concordia owner: Fuel removal to be completed in three weeks

Feb 17, 2012, 16:58 GMT

Genoa, Italy - The removal of the remaining 1,428 cubic metres of fuel from the shipwreck of the Costa Concordia should be completed within three weeks, the vessel's owner said Friday.

'The pumping of fuel from the cruise ship Costa Concordia has been continuing around the clock since 5 pm on February 12,' the Genoa-based Costa Crociere said in a statement.

By early Friday, a total of 952 cubic meters of fuel had been pumped out of four tanks located in the forward part of the ship, the statement said.

'If the sea and weather conditions remain favorable, all of the fuel still on board the Costa Concordia should be extracted within three working weeks,' it added.

The Concordia ran aground near Giglio, a small island off Italy's western coast, on January 13, after veering off its official course.

To date, 17 people have been certified dead from the disaster, while 15 remain unaccounted for.

The cruise ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, is currently under house arrest and faces charges of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning the ship before all of the around 4,200 passengers and crew were evacuated.

The search for the missing people on parts of the ship lying under water was called off on January 31 due to safety concerns for scuba divers as rough water had caused the Concordia to shift slightly from its position.

The process of emptying the ship's tanks was originally scheduled to start soon after the end of the search for the missing people, but only began Sunday after weather conditions forced repeated delays.