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Dutch maritime services company Smit Salvage has warned that it could take two to four weeks to pump out half a million gallons of fuel from the Costa Concordia’s 17 tanks.

Rotterdam-based Smit Salvage says it is prepared to begin the removal of fuel from the stricken liner once search operations for missing people have ended and they receive the green light from local authorities.

The company was in talks yesterday with the Italian navy, the coast guard and the insurers of the ship regarding the removal of fuel on board the ship.

Smit Salvage 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 begins to leak.

Company officials said that so far all of the ship’s 17 tanks are intact. However, there are fears that if the ship is dislodged from its resting place by strong waves, it could slide off the rock ledge and sink to a depth of 300 feet.

That would make the fuel recovery operation much harder, although Smit’s experts said they have worked on wrecks at greater depths in the past.

"It depends on how far it might slip, to what depth and how much it is damaged," said Kees van Essen, the company’s operations manager.

The majority of the fuel on board the ship is said to be diesel, whilst approximately 200 tonnes of heavier oil will also have to be removed from the cruise vessel as well as a small amount of lubricants and other substances.

According to Mike Lacey, secretary general of the trade group International Salvage Union, the salvage workers' task will be a little easier because most of the fuel is diesel, which is relatively light and will not have to be warmed before pumping. "It’s not as bad as heavy fuel, but it can still make a mess," he said.