<p>Greece on Saturday began a clean-up operation of the remaining fuel in a  cruise ship that sunk near the Aegean island of Santorini in April 2007,  according to the merchant navy ministry.</p>
<p>It will see up to 113 tonnes of fuel being pumped from the Sea Diamond by a  special ship with the held of three remote controlled robotic submarines, public  NET television reported.</p>
<p>Merchant navy minister Anastasis Papaliguras arrived Saturday in Santorini to  inspect the work, the station reported.</p>
<p>The ship's owner Cyprus-based Louis Hellenic Cruises (LHC) will pick up the  4.4 million euros (5.9 million dollars) bill for the work, which is expected to  last more than three weeks, NET added.</p>
<p>The Sea Diamond sank near the Aegean island of Santorini after hitting a  reef. Two French passengers, a man and his daughter, are missing assumed dead,  but some 1,600 other passengers and the crew were evacuated safely.</p>
<p>The ship sank to a depth of 140 metres (450 feet) with much of its fuel still  on board, raising fears of lasting pollution.</p>
<p>But the government said after the incident that at least two-thirds of the  400 tonnes of fuel onboard had been pumped out of the ship, eliminating any  major pollution risks.</p>
<p>Its owners paid for a surface clean-up operation but refused to raise the  ship because of the depth, warning that the wreck could fall apart and spill the  remaining fuel over a wider area.</p>