EMEA News
Smit Salvage to Remove Bunkers from Costa Concordia Wreck
Smit Salvage (Smit) has been hired to remove some 2,300 tons of fuel from the Costa Concordia cruise ship which sank late last Friday.
The crippled cruise liner lies just off the coast of Giglio, about 14 miles from the Tuscan coast and within Europe's biggest marine park, the Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean Marine Mammals.
Established by the governments of France, Italy and Monaco in 1999, the approximately 84,000 square km of waters are home to many species of marine life including fin whale, sperm whale and bottlenose dolphin.
It is believed the wreck has so far not leaked anything from its 17 double hulled tanks.
But shifts in position and bad weather only increase the likelihood of a spill, and the containment barriers placed around the ship to contain any spill are less effective in rough seas.
Smit, which removed 500 tons of oil from the tanker Kyung Shin in June of last year, are reported to have personnel and equipment already in the area and divers hope to inspect the ship in the next few days.
