Salvage experts are expected to be given the all-clear to start pumping fuel from the luxury cruise liner that capsized off the coast of Italy.
The Captain of the Costa Concordia has been placed under house arrest after a court appearance relating to his role in the disaster that has left 11 dead.
And while the search continues for any bodies that remain in the vessel - with 23 people still missing - hopes of finding any more survivors have disappeared.
Maritime experts have expressed fears that the ship's position could cause "some small spillage" of the 500,000 gallons of fuel in its 17 tanks. Dutch maritime services company SMIT said it was ready to start pumping fuel from the stricken liner once search operations for missing people have ended and they get the go-ahead from local authorities. SMIT has been asked by the ship's owner and insurer to salvage up to 2,300 tonnes of fuel from the 114,500-tonne ship and clean up if fuel on the vessel starts to leak.
It comes after a dramatic recording apparently revealed the ship's captain ignored orders to go back to the ship he had abandoned . Francesco Schettino, who is accused of manslaughter, abandoning his ship and causing a shipwreck, was arrested on Saturday.
He is blamed by his employer for risking the lives of more than 4,200 passengers by sailing too close to the shore so he could "make a salute".
Divers used explosives to blast holes in the vessel on Tuesday, when five more bodies were found inside the half-submerged ship.
Thirteen German tourists, six Italians, four French citizens, two Americans and three people from Peru, India and Hungary are unaccounted for. Four of those missing were crew members and the rest were passengers. The nationalities of the five bodies found on Tuesday were not immediately announced.
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