"Officials called off both the start of operations to remove of 500,000 gallons of fuel and the search for people still missing after determining the Costa Concordia had moved an inch and a half over six hours, coupled with waves of more than three feet. University of Florence professor Riccardo Fanti said the ship's movements could either be caused by the ship settling on its own weight, slipping deeper into the seabed, or both. He also could not rule out the ship's sliding along the seabed. Experts have said it would take 28 days to remove fuel from 15 tanks accounting for more than 80 per cent of all fuel on board the ship. The next job would be to target the engine room, which contains nearly 350 cubic meters of diesel, fuel and other lubricants, Gabrielli said.
Only once the fuel is removed can work begin on removing the ship, either floating it in one piece or cutting it up and towing it away as a wreck. Costa has begun the process for taking bids for the recovery operation, a process that will take two months.
Mr Gabrielli said the actual removal will take from seven to 10 months – meaning that the wreck will be visible from the coast of the Italian island of Giglio for the entire summer tourism season.
Residents of Giglio have been circulating a petition to demand that officials provide more information on how the full-scale operations can coexist with the important tourism season. At the moment, access to the port for private boats has been banned and all boats must stay at least one mile from the wrecked ship, affecting access to Giglio's only harbour for fishermen, scuba divers and private boat owners."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/9047774/Costa-Concordia-will-take-10-months-to-be-removed.htmlSlip sliding away, slip sliding away. You know the nearer your destination, the more you slip sliding away Simon and Garfunkel
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