Weather yesterday (February 11, 2012) has finally permitted Smit Salvage to begin the removal of the fuel from Costa Concordia.
In preparation for this, in late January, Smit divers began to tap the ship's 17 fuel tanks to install heated sealable flanges through a complex process explained in the first video below:
The second video shows the Smit divers actually installing the sealable flanges:
Video courtesy of Smit Salvage
