Dutch firm to pump Concordia wreck fuel   

By The Holland Times Wednesday 18 January 2012, 11:01

Dutch firm Smit Salvage will oversee pumping 2,300 tonnes of heavy oil and diesel from the Costa Concordia wreck. The clean-up of the capsized cruise ship off the Italian coast is expected to take up to four weeks.

"We are ready to start the operation tomorrow," said Smit Salvage operations manager Kees van Essen during a press telephone conference. Approval is first needed from Italian authorities, the Coast Guard and Costa Concordia's owners. 

At the moment, there is no pollution risk, according to Martijn Schuttevaer, spokesperson for Royal Boskalis, Smit Salvage's parent company. "There has been no form of pollution or oil escaping from the vessel," he confirmed.

With a storm expected to hit Giglio Island, nearby the wreck, there are environmental risks and concerns the ship may slip off a rocky shelf that currently keeps it from sinking. "The earlier we start, the better," said Van Essen.

Twenty-nine people are missing and 11 confirmed dead following the cruise ship's crash this week.