In for the Long Hull: It Will Take Weeks to Drain the <i>Costa Concordia</i>'s Fuel: Scientific American Gallery

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In for the Long Hull: It Will Take Weeks to Drain the Costa Concordia's Fuel

January 18, 2012 | 4

In for the Long Hull: It Will Take Weeks to Drain the <i>Costa Concordia</i>'s Fuel

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Italy's coast guard suspended the search for people on the Costa Concordia today after the ship slipped farther into the Mediterranean. On Friday, the cruise ship, carrying 4,200 passengers, struck rocks just off the coast of Tuscany. The ship quickly began listing to its side, and soon found itself halfway submerged. In the initial confusion, many passengers jumped into the water, while others boarded lifeboats or waited for rescuers to arrive. So far, 23 people are missing and eleven have been confirmed dead.

Now, the focus has shifted to draining the ship of fuel and minimizing the potential for more environmental damage to the region. But that process will most likely take weeks, experts say, so the Concordia won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

In the meantime officials are trying to decide how to deal with Capt. Francesco Schettino, who steered the vessel too close to the shore, then reportedly abandoned ship during the evacuation.

—Rose Eveleth

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1. obviousstatement 08:42 PM 1/18/12

I thought this was supposed to be an article about moving the Concordia?
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2. msadesign 07:00 AM 1/19/12

Funny. As a regular, published columnist in a print paper, I can tell you who writes the 'heds' and it is NOT the writer.
And for good reason. After all it's a general interest site/ magazine and while my column might be the only thing worth reading [hehe] others have different views.
I do agree though that the hed should be a teeny bit more accurate, a recurring problem here at SA where many times the stories and the titles seem dumbed-down.
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3. dbtinc 08:35 AM 1/19/12

uhhh, deceptive headline! Guess the editors thought it better to bash the Captain one more time then deal with the next issue - what to do with a $billion shipwreck!
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4. bioprof 09:46 AM 1/19/12

Need to change the headlines especially when running the same story day after day.... keeping readers interest in a humdrum news event.
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