Stricken cruise vessel Cost Concordia could remain where it is until the end of the year, according to Civil Protection agency chief Franco Gabrielli. Such a delay would further hamper final insurance decisions since where the losses accrue depends on whether or not the hull can be salvaged. Mr Gabrielli said that it could be seven to 10 months before the vessel is removed from its position outside the port of Giglio. Meanwhile, 17 bodies have so far been found, with about 15 people still missing. Costa Cruises has reportedly offered €11,000 ($14,500) to every uninjured passenger. This would be in addition to full refunds, payment of fare home and other expenses. Costa Cruises is in negotiations with Italian consumer groups, and appeared to claim last Thursday that it had reached a settlement. However, this soon looked to be wishful thinking on the part of the cruise operator. Roberto Corbella, the head of Italy's association of tour operators, urged customers to accept an offer, noting that "lawsuits have uncertain outcomes. They take a long time. There are legal costs". Those accepting the offer would have to agree to drop all future litigation. US personal injury lawyer John Arthur Eaves told Reuters TV that he felt that the class action option was not right for this case, because "everyone in this boat has different damages". Six passengers – four Americans and two Italians – have filed a suit in Miami, claiming $440m in damages from Costa Cruises and its owner, Florida-based Carnival Corp (Scimone v. Carnival Cruise Lines, Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit (Miami). A crew member has filed a $100m suit against Carnival in a Chicago federal court (Lobaton v. Carnival Corp., 12-cv-598, United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago)), seeking class action status for all the victims.