On 24th March SMIT Salvage successfully completed its assignment on the removal of fuel from the Costa Concordia. Over the last couple of days, the SMIT Salvage diving team was transferring HFO from the last settling tank in the engine room .
Early this morning, the last tanks were completed, closed and sealed off.
The entire oil removal process which lasted just over one month went smoothly and was executed in line with expectations. Most of the diving and pumping equipment will be demobilized and brought back to Livorno onboard of the crane/work barge Meloria.
SMIT will retain a small diving team and a diving foreman on the island under a so-called ‘caretaker contract’. The SMIT Salvage team will remain standby on the island for designated emergency duties until a contractor is appointed for the removal of the entire ship.
[mappress] Subsea World News Staff , March 26, 2012; Image: Boskalis