Greece starts fuel cleanup of sunken Sea Diamond ship

Thanassis Stavrakis

This picture taken on board marine research vessel Phylia shows the hull of the sunken Sea Diamond cruise ship at a depth of 107 meters, filmed by a remote operated vehicle, off the island of Santorini in 2007. Greece on Saturday began a clean-up operation of the remaining fuel in a cruise ship that sunk near the Aegean island of Santorini in April 2007, according to the merchant navy ministry.

Greece on Saturday began a clean-up operation of the remaining fuel in a cruise ship that sunk near the Aegean island of Santorini in April 2007, according to the merchant navy ministry.

It will see up to 113 tonnes of fuel being pumped from the Sea Diamond by a special ship with the held of three remote controlled robotic submarines, public NET television reported.

Merchant navy minister Anastasis Papaliguras arrived Saturday in Santorini to inspect the work, the station reported.

The ship's owner Cyprus-based Louis Hellenic Cruises (LHC) will pick up the 4.4 million euros (5.9 million dollars) bill for the work, which is expected to last more than three weeks, NET added.

The Sea Diamond sank near the Aegean island of Santorini after hitting a reef. Two French passengers, a man and his daughter, are missing assumed dead, but some 1,600 other passengers and the crew were evacuated safely.

The ship sank to a depth of 140 metres (450 feet) with much of its fuel still on board, raising fears of lasting pollution.

But the government said after the incident that at least two-thirds of the 400 tonnes of fuel onboard had been pumped out of the ship, eliminating any major pollution risks.

Its owners paid for a surface clean-up operation but refused to raise the ship because of the depth, warning that the wreck could fall apart and spill the remaining fuel over a wider area.