Preparations Underway to Salvage Fuel from Costa Concordia
Upon becoming aware of the evacuation of Costa Concordia, SMIT approached the
owners and underwriters of the Costa Concordia bidding for the salvage contract.
SMIT has an extensive
track record relating to marine emergency response, refloating stranded
vessels and wreck removals. In the days following the accident, a
contract was awarded by the Owners to SMIT and local partners Tito Neri
for the removal of the bunker oil and pollution control.
The estimated amount of bunkers in the vessel is 2200 MT of IFO
(intermediate fuel oil), 185 MT of MGO (marine gas oil/diesel) and
lubricants, distributed over 17 tanks. We have seen conflicting reports of the amount of fuel. The latest number we have seen involves 13 double-bottomed tanks and 10 single-bottom tanks.
In the days following the accident, a contract was awarded by the Owners
to SMIT and local partners Tito Neri for the removal of the bunker oil
and pollution control.
24 January - Preparation Begins
Following a press conference held by the authorities yesterday on the
island of Giglio, which was also attended by representatives of Costa
Cruises and SMIT Salvage, it was stated that SMIT Salvage would be
allowed to commence with the
preparations for the oil removal today. The work will be done in tandem with the search and rescue efforts.
Click for Continuing Coverage (below)
The Process
- SMIT Salvage placed its work/crane barge Meloria, pictured above, alongside the
Costa Concordia.
- Divers from SMIT Salvage will then inspect parts of
the underwater ship and make the necessary preparations to remove the
fuel from the ship.
- Next stage will be the drilling of holes in the fuel
tanks and the installation of valves by means of a hot tap.
While the fuel has been submerged, it has become solidified. A hot tap is used to heat the fuel back into a liquid state so that it can be extracted. This process will take several weeks with current estimates at 4 to 6 weeks.
Precautionary Measures
- Double containment booms around the ship ( to concentrate oil in thicker surface layers so that skimmers, vacuums,
or other collection methods can be used more effectively)
- SMIT has mobilized an oil tanker with emergency response equipment including sweeping arms, booms and a skimmer. (to respond to any spill that might occur)
This post will provide updates on the fuel salvage operations.
24 March - Removal Completed
This morning at 08.00 CET 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 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.
23 March - Oil Removed
2,400 tons of oil have been removed from the ship. This process took five weeks to complete. The ship still must be monitored for leaks and further cleanup efforts are pending, including the ultimate removal of the ship. Six companies have submitted bids to Costa Cruises for the removal.
2 March - Double Bottom Tanks Completed
This afternoon the salvage team completed the discharge of Heavy Fuel
Oil, Diesel Oil and Sludge from the Double Bottom Tanks. Weather
permitting the crane barge Meloria will now be moved forward in her
moorings in between the stabilizer and the large damaged area. An access
hole will be created in the hull to allow the divers to enter the
engine room spaces where the settling and service tanks are located.
Once
the connections have been installed, the contents will be transferred
to the offloading tanker. Thereafter the contents of the sewage tanks
will also be pumped out of the ship.
23 February - Removal Progressing Well, Steady Pace
Salvage workers have extracted 1,300 cubic metres of fuel from six tanks, equivalent to two-thirds of the total on board. Oil has been removed from all six forward tanks and the hoses, pumps and
valves have been disconnected with the flanges sealed off. Following
the successful oil removal from the forward ship, the crane barge was
disconnected and brought back into the sheltered port on Monday morning.
The fuel tanker 'Elba' into which the fuel was pumped has moved away
from the Costa Concordia and a second fuel barge 'Magic Duba' is standby
to replace the 'Elba'.
Since Monday, the wind and wave conditions have hampered the
continuation of the oil removal process. As soon as the weather permits,
the crane barge will be repositioned alongside the Costa Concordia.
Based on the current planning, the mid-ship tanks containing MGO and two
double bottom sludge tanks will have the next priority. These tanks
will also be emptied using the hot tap method. Due to the unpredictable
weather conditions, SMIT cannot provide an estimated date of completion.
13 February - Pumping Began Sunday
Yesterday afternoon, at 16.55, the first oil was removed from the Costa
Concordia. In line with the presentation made on the January 28, the
initial operation is focused on the forward fuel tanks. Currently four
of the six forward fuel tanks have now been installed with a sealable
flange. As operations continue, the remaining tanks will also be
prepared.
The first tank which was connected to the pumps is
relatively small and located on the port side of the Costa Concordia.
The weather forecast for the coming days looks good and pumping will
continue around the clock as long as the favorable conditions continue.
12 February - Removal Begins
Underwater
pumping operations began Sunday to remove some of the 500,000 gallons of
fuel aboard the Costa Concordia, after nearly two weeks of delays
because of rough seas and bad weather. The removal operations will run
24 hours a day. The forecast for the next several days is favorable,
so it is the hope of SMIT, who is running the operation, that the
majority of the fuel in the forward tanks can be drained by week's
end.This would represent about 60% of the fuel.
It will take approximately 28 consecutive days of pumping to empty the tanks.
28 January - Hot Tap Animation
At a press conference held today on the island of Giglio, SMIT Salvage
and its partner Fratelli Neri provided a technical briefing on the oil
removal operation. See
Oil Removal Briefing - Click Here for Details
Two of the six forward fuel tanks have now been installed with a sealed
flange and the remaining tanks were due to be prepared today. The six
forward tanks are estimated to hold approximately two thirds of the
(intermediate) fuel oil in the casualty.
Unfavorable
weather once again played a role and the crane barge was disconnected
from the casualty and brought into the protective port of the island
Giglio.
25 January - Preparation Continues
Divers from SMIT Salvage together with its partner Fratelli Neri have made significant progress:
- Inspected forward section of the submerged
underwater part of the ship
- Marked the drilling locations of
the heavy fuel oil tanks
- Installed second inner protection barrier (oil booms)
Installation of hot tap valves on the outer hull of the vessel
and drilling of holes through the hull into the oil tanks must be done
before pumping of the oil can commence.
Costa Concordia
