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Large-scale skimmer continues testing
Large-scale skimmer continues testing in GulfA ship billed as the world's largest skimming vessel will continue testing its abilities in the Gulf of Mexico Sunday.
If A Whale's tests in a 5-by-5-mile area north of the underwater gusher are successful, the massive ship could play a key role in oil cleanup efforts
The boat, which swallows water with oil then separates it, can skim about 21 million gallons of oil a day. That's at least 250 times the amount that modified fishing vessels currently conducting skimming operations have been able to contain, according to Taiwanese company TMT shipping, which owns the vessel.
Initial results from tests are expected Monday, TMT spokesman Bob Grantham said.
Meanwhile, a shift in winds beginning Sunday could send more weathered petroleum toward sensitive shores in Mississippi and Louisiana, the Coast Guard said.
Bad weather over the past few days has significantly hampered cleanup efforts.
"The weather is one challenge you can't defeat," Coast Guard Adm. Paul Zunkunft said.
Ribbons of oil stripe the water for miles, but waves Saturday were still too high for boats -- 550 stood ready -- to skim oil off the water.
"At the Coast Guard, we do take it personally. It is portrayed as mission failure any time oil washes ashore," he said.
Zunkunft said he will put the skimmers back to work as soon as the sea calms.
Researchers have estimated that between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels (1.5 million to 2.5 million gallons) of oil have been gushing into the Gulf daily since April 20, when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank off the coast of Louisiana.
The A Whale arrived in the Gulf on Wednesday and has been awaiting approval to join in cleanup efforts.
The skimmer works by "taking in oily water through a series of vents, or jaws, on the side of the ship and then decanting the intake," Grantham said. "In many ways, the ship collects water like an actual whale and pumps internally like a human heart."
Zunkunft said he is also calling in reinforcements, including 300 new skimmers in the next two weeks.
For the 12-hour period from midnight until noon Saturday, approximately 7,980 barrels (335,160 gallons) of oil were collected and about 4,155 barrels (174,510 gallons) of oil and 28.3 million cubic feet of natural gas were flared, BP said.
The company said about 25,290 barrels (1,062,180 gallons) of oil were recovered Friday.
Source: CNN
If A Whale's tests in a 5-by-5-mile area north of the underwater gusher are successful, the massive ship could play a key role in oil cleanup efforts
The boat, which swallows water with oil then separates it, can skim about 21 million gallons of oil a day. That's at least 250 times the amount that modified fishing vessels currently conducting skimming operations have been able to contain, according to Taiwanese company TMT shipping, which owns the vessel.
Initial results from tests are expected Monday, TMT spokesman Bob Grantham said.
Meanwhile, a shift in winds beginning Sunday could send more weathered petroleum toward sensitive shores in Mississippi and Louisiana, the Coast Guard said.
Bad weather over the past few days has significantly hampered cleanup efforts.
"The weather is one challenge you can't defeat," Coast Guard Adm. Paul Zunkunft said.
Ribbons of oil stripe the water for miles, but waves Saturday were still too high for boats -- 550 stood ready -- to skim oil off the water.
"At the Coast Guard, we do take it personally. It is portrayed as mission failure any time oil washes ashore," he said.
Zunkunft said he will put the skimmers back to work as soon as the sea calms.
Researchers have estimated that between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels (1.5 million to 2.5 million gallons) of oil have been gushing into the Gulf daily since April 20, when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank off the coast of Louisiana.
The A Whale arrived in the Gulf on Wednesday and has been awaiting approval to join in cleanup efforts.
The skimmer works by "taking in oily water through a series of vents, or jaws, on the side of the ship and then decanting the intake," Grantham said. "In many ways, the ship collects water like an actual whale and pumps internally like a human heart."
Zunkunft said he is also calling in reinforcements, including 300 new skimmers in the next two weeks.
For the 12-hour period from midnight until noon Saturday, approximately 7,980 barrels (335,160 gallons) of oil were collected and about 4,155 barrels (174,510 gallons) of oil and 28.3 million cubic feet of natural gas were flared, BP said.
The company said about 25,290 barrels (1,062,180 gallons) of oil were recovered Friday.
Source: CNN
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