Costa Crociere reported that 952 cubic meters (251,492 gallons) of fuel has been pumped out of four tanks located the forward part of the capsized Costa Concordia off the coast of Italian island of Giglio. The pumping of fuel has been continuing around the clock since 5 p.m. on Feb. 12 in accordance with the plan devised by the Neri/Smit Salvage team hired by Costa.

A total of 1,428 cubic meters (377,237 gallons) of fuel is still to be removed from 13 tanks, of which 576 cubic meters (152,163 gallons) is in the forward part of the ship. According to the Neri/Smit schedule, if sea and weather conditions remain favorable, all of the fuel on the ship should be extracted within three weeks if operations can continue 24 hours per day.

Costa said one of its priorities has been to guarantee maximum safety, the least environmental impact and protection of the tourism industry on the island of Giglio, Italy. The defueling procedure and other operations on Costa Concordia are being conducted jointly with full cooperation between Costa Crociere and the Concordia Emergency Commissioner’s Office. The death toll from the cruise disaster remains at 17, though 15 people are still missing and presumed dead. Costa also earlier this week extended the deadline for passengers to accept a compensation offer.