Underwater pumping operations began Sunday to remove some of the 500,000 gallons of fuel aboard the Costa Concordia, officials said, nearly a month after the cruise ship ran aground off Tuscany. 
 
 In this photo released by the Italian Presidency, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, right, greets relatives of the victims of the cruise ship that ran aground last month off Tuscany, in Rome, Sunday,... (Associated Press) 
 
 Snow covers the rooftops of the houses overlooking the harbour of the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, as the grounded Costa Concordia cruise liner still lays stricken in background.... (Associated Press) 
 
 Pope Benedict XVI, framed by marble statues, delivers his message during the Angelus prayer in St. Peter's square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012. The Pontiff has called on the Syrian leadership... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo released by the Italian Presidency, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, right, greets some relatives of the victims of the cruise ship that ran aground last month off Tuscany, in Rome,... (Associated Press) 
 
 After nearly two weeks of delays because of rough seas and bad weather, the pumping got under way on the first of 15 tanks that are believed to hold around 84 percent of the fuel on board, Italy's civil protection department said. 
 
 Officials say it will take 28 consecutive days of pumping to empty the tanks. 
 
 Dutch shipwreck salvage firm Smit is overseeing the operation, along with an Italian partner. 
 
 The fuel extraction process involves fixing valves on the underwater fuel tanks, one on top, one on bottom. Hoses are attached to the valves and as the oil _ which must be warmed to make it less gooey _ is sucked out of the upper hose, sea water is pumped in to fill the vacuum via the lower hose. 
 
 "We expect the next five days to be good weather, and we will work 24 hours a day to pump out the fuel," said Bart Huizing, Smit's salvage master. He said operations would initially focus on the six tanks in the front part of the ship where about 62-65 percent of the fuel is located. 
 
 "Hopefully by the end of the week we will have the majority out," he told The Associated Press in Giglio. 
 
 Ever since the Concordia ran aground Jan. 13, fears have swirled about fuel leaks and resulting contamination of the pristine waters off the tiny island of Giglio, which form part of a protected sanctuary for dolphins, whales and porpoises. There have been no reports of any serious leaks. 
 
 The Concordia slammed into a reef off Giglio after the captain deviated from the ship's planned course in an apparent stunt. Passengers have said the captain then delayed sounding the evacuation alarm until the ship had capsized so much that lifeboats on one side couldn't be lowered. 
 
 About 4,200 passengers and crew escaped, but 17 bodies have been found and another 15 people remain missing and presumed dead. 
 
 The captain, Francesco Schettino, is under house arrest, accused of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning the ship before all the passengers had been evacuated. He has said the reef wasn't marked on his nautical charts. 
 
 Earlier Sunday during a memorial service for victims, Italy's president and the country's top bishop demanded justice and called for the truth of what transpired that night to come to light. 
 
 "Let the light of the Lord help bring about truth and justice, let wounds be healed and let trust and courage for the future be reinforced," Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco said in his homily. 
 
 President Giorgio Napolitano, who attended the service at Rome's St. Mary of the Angels basilica, said he was sorry that what transpired "was the responsibility of Italy and Italians." 
 
 "We must continue to investigate," he told reporters outside the basilica. "Prosecutors deserve respect for the job they're doing." 
 
 Another memorial service, falling on the one-month commemoration of the grounding, was planned for Monday in Giglio itself. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Simone Camilli in Giglio contributed to this report. ||||| Costa Concordia fuel removal operation begins 
 
 There have been fears of a fuel leak from the stricken liner 
 
 Pumping to remove more than 2,300 tonnes of fuel from the grounded Costa Concordia cruise ship has started, Italian officials have said. 
 
 It began on Sunday afternoon, nearly a month after the ship hit a reef and capsized off the island of Giglio. 
 
 The process had been delayed by both the search and rescue operation and bad weather, prompting fears of a leak into the protected waters off the island. 
 
 Seventeen people died when the ship capsized and 15 more are presumed dead. 
 
 Its captain has been accused in Italy of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship before all those aboard were evacuated. 
 
 Prosecutors in France have also launched an investigation, given that four French nationals died and two others are among the missing. 
 
 The captain, Francesco Schettino, denies wrongdoing. 
 
 Crane barge 
 
 Dutch salvage company Smit is conducting the operation to pump out the fuel, which is expected to take about four weeks to complete. 
 
 It will concentrate on the first of 15 tanks that are believed to hold around 84% of the fuel on board, the AP news agency quoted Italy's civil protection department as saying. 
 
 Valves will be fixed to the tanks, allowing oil to be pumped through a hose on to a crane barge alongside the vessel. From there the oil will be transferred to a waiting oil tanker. 
 
 As oil is removed, water will be forced in via a second hose to fill the vacuum. ||||| Italian naval divers on Tuesday exploded holes in the hull of a cruise ship grounded off a Tuscan island to speed the search for 29 missing people while seas were still calm. One official said there was still a "glimmer of hope" that survivors could be found. 
 
 Oil removal ships near the cruise ship Costa Concordia leaning on its side Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, after running aground the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, last Friday night. The rescue operation... (Associated Press) 
 
 An oil removal ship near the cruise ship Costa Concordia, leaning on its side, Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, after running aground near the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, last Friday night. The rescue... (Associated Press) 
 
 An Italian firefighters climbs on the cruise ship Costa Concordia Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, after it run aground near the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, last Friday night. Italian rescue officials... (Associated Press) 
 
 A seagull flies Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, over the cruise ship Costa Concordia leaning on its side after running aground near the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, last Friday night. (AP Photo/Gregorio... (Associated Press) 
 
 Italian firefighters walk Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, on the cruise ship Costa Concordia leaning on its side after running aground the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, last Friday night. (AP Photo/Gregorio... (Associated Press) 
 
 Oil removal ships near the cruise ship Costa Concordia leaning on its side Monday, Jan. 16, 2012, after running aground near the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, last Friday night. The rescue operation... (Associated Press) 
 
 The cruise ship Costa Concordia leans on its side Monday, Jan.16, 2012, after running aground near the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy, last Friday. The rescue operation was called off mid-afternoon... (Associated Press) 
 
 Prosecutors, meanwhile, prepared to question the captain, who is accused of causing the wreck that left at least six dead and abandoning the Costa Concordia before all 4,200 people onboard were safely evacuated after the vessel capsized Friday night. 
 
 Navy spokesman Alessandro Busonero told Sky TV 24 the holes will help divers enter the wreck more easily. "We are rushing against time," he said. 
 
 The divers set four microcharges above and below the surface of the water, Busonero said. Television footage showed one hole above the waterline to be less than two meters (6 feet) in diameter. 
 
 "The hope is that the ship is empty and that the people are somewhere else, or if they are inside that they found a safe place to await rescue," Coast Guard spokesman Filippo Marini told Sky TV 24 
 
 The cruiseliner tragedy also has turned into a potential environmental crisis, with rough seas battering the stricken ship raising fears that fuel might leak into pristine waters off Giglio that are part of a sanctuary for dolphins, porpoises and whales. 
 
 Waters were relatively calm Tuesday with waves of just 30 centimeters, but they were expected to reach 1.8 meters Wednesday, according to meteorological forecasts. 
 
 The Italian Coast Guard on Monday raised the number of missing to 25 passengers and four crew. The missing appear to include a group of Germans, two Americans and six Italians. Family members have identified the Americans as Jerry Heil, 69, and his wife Barbara, 70, from White Bear Lake, Minnesota. 
 
 Italian Coast Guard official Marco Brusco said Tuesday there was still "a glimmer of hope" survivors could still be found on parts of the vast cruise liner not yet searched. The last survivor, a crewman who had broken his leg, was rescued Sunday. 
 
 The ship is carrying some 500,000 gallons (1.9 million liters) of fuel on board. To date there's been no word of any leaks, but choppy waters that slightly shifted the wreckage on Monday escalated fears of one and suspended rescue operations for several hours. 
 
 The ship's operator, Costa Crociere SpA, has enlisted one of the world's leading salvagers, Smit of Rotterdam, Netherlands, to handle the removal of the 1,000-foot (290-meter) cruise liner and extract the fuel safely. 
 
 The cruise operator has said Capt. Francesco Schettino strayed from the ship's authorized course into waters too close to the perilous reef. The navigational version of a "fly by" was apparently a favor to the chief waiter who is from Giglio and whose parents live on the island, local media reported. 
 
 A judge is to decide Tuesday if Schettino should stay jailed. Prosecutor Francesco Verusio called Schettino's maneuver "reckless" and "inexcusable." 
 
 Miami-based Carnival Corp., which owns the Italian operator, estimated that preliminary losses from having the Concordia out of operation at least through 2012 would be between $85 million and $95 million, along with other costs. The company's share price slumped more than 16 percent Monday. 
 
 Costa Crociere chairman and CEO Pier Luigi Foschi said the company would provide Schettino with legal assistance, but he disassociated Costa from his behavior, saying it broke rules. "Capt. Schettino took an initiative of his own will which is contrary to our written rules of conduct," Foschi said. 
 
 Foschi didn't respond directly to prosecutors' and passengers' accusations that Schettino abandoned ship before all passengers had been evacuated, but he suggested his conduct wasn't as bad in the hours of the evacuation as has been portrayed. He didn't elaborate. 
 
 The Coast Guard said Schettino defied their entreaties to return to his ship as the chaotic evacuation of some 4,200 people was in progress. After the ship's tilt put many life rafts out of service, helicopters plucked to safety dozens of people still aboard, hours after Schettino was seen leaving the vessel. 
 
 The captain has insisted in an interview before his jailing that he stayed with the vessel to the end. 
 
 He noted that 4,200 people managed to evacuate a listing ship at night within two hours. In addition, the ship's evacuation procedures had been reviewed last November by an outside firm and port authorities and no faults were found, he said.
– Italian officials have begun operations to salvage some 500,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil from the stricken Costa Concordia cruise ship, reports the BBC. Dutch salvage company Smit is performing the operation, which has been delayed by bad weather and the search for survivors; the salvage is expected to take 28 days. "We expect the next five days to be good weather, and we will work 24 hours a day to pump out the fuel," says Smit's salvage master. "Hopefully by the end of the week we will have the majority out." Some 15 tanks are believed to hold 84% of the fuel aboard, notes the AP.