Italy: Officials mulling removal of fuel from ship

Technical experts are mulling the possibility of pumping millions of gallons of fuel out of a grounded, capsized cruise ship off Tuscany in an effort to avert an environmental catastrophe in the pristine waters.

Meanwhile, divers continue the search for 19 people known missing.

Civil protection officials are weighing whether to halt the search so the pumping of the fuel could begin, as islanders grew increasingly concerned about the possibility that the double-bottomed tanks holding some 2,200 metric tons of heavy fuel could leak.
  

The pristine sea around Giglio, where the ship with 4,200 people aboard rammed a reef and sliced open its hull on Jan. 13 before turning over on its side, is a prized fishing area and part of a protected area for whales and dolphins.

The national civil protection official in charge of the rescue effort met with technical experts Monday morning to determine if operations to pump the fuel could begin alongside with the ongoing search, or if it would present dangers to the divers.

Franco Gabrielli was to meet later with prosecutors to discuss the implications of halting the search.
  

Dutch salvage company Smit has been ready for a week to begin pumping fuel from the tanks, awaiting only the go ahead.

Already, some diesel and lubricants have leaked into the water near the ship, probably from machinery on board.

Officials have characterized the contamination as superficial.