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New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) -- A ship billed as the world's largest skimming vessel has begun testing its effectiveness in the Gulf of Mexico, a spokesman for its owner, Taiwanese company TMT Shipping, said Saturday.
The A Whale has been assigned a 5-mile-by-5-mile area to test its capability, spokesman Bob Grantham said, citing Coast Guard Rear Adm. Paul Zukunft. Testing is expected to continue Saturday and Sunday, with initial results probably available Monday, Grantham said.
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."
The testing area is just north of the underwater oil gusher, the statement said.
The A Whale arrived in the Gulf on Wednesday and has been awaiting approval to join in cleanup efforts. The vessel is estimated to be able to skim 21 million gallons of oil a day, at least 250 times the amount that modified fishing vessels currently conducting skimming operations have been able to contain, according to TMT.
The A Whale has been assigned a 5-mile-by-5-mile area to test its capability, spokesman Bob Grantham said, citing Coast Guard Rear Adm. Paul Zukunft. Testing is expected to continue Saturday and Sunday, with initial results probably available Monday, Grantham said.
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."
The testing area is just north of the underwater oil gusher, the statement said.
The A Whale arrived in the Gulf on Wednesday and has been awaiting approval to join in cleanup efforts. The vessel is estimated to be able to skim 21 million gallons of oil a day, at least 250 times the amount that modified fishing vessels currently conducting skimming operations have been able to contain, according to TMT.
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RELATED TOPICS
Gulf Coast Oil Spill
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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Built this year, the vessel was meant to carry crude oil and iron ore. But after hearing about the oil disaster in the Gulf, TMT modified it to become the world's first large-scale skimmer, spokesman Frank Maisano said this week.
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.
Also Saturday, response workers recovered boom suspected to have been vandalized in the marshes of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, the Deepwater Horizon Joint Information Center said. It released several Coast Guard photographs of the boom, which appeared to have been cut open.
"Boom vandalism and mishaps involving small craft moving or cutting boom with propellers impedes oil recovery efforts, endangers workers who must return to recover and replace the boom and slows efforts to conduct booming operations elsewhere," a statement from the center said.
RELATED TOPICS
Gulf Coast Oil Spill
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
BP plc
Built this year, the vessel was meant to carry crude oil and iron ore. But after hearing about the oil disaster in the Gulf, TMT modified it to become the world's first large-scale skimmer, spokesman Frank Maisano said this week.
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.
Also Saturday, response workers recovered boom suspected to have been vandalized in the marshes of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, the Deepwater Horizon Joint Information Center said. It released several Coast Guard photographs of the boom, which appeared to have been cut open.
"Boom vandalism and mishaps involving small craft moving or cutting boom with propellers impedes oil recovery efforts, endangers workers who must return to recover and replace the boom and slows efforts to conduct booming operations elsewhere," a statement from the center said.
In an effort to reduce boom damage, the Coast Guard has instituted a safety zone around boom sites and established a hotline to report damage.
Meanwhile, Environmental Protection Agency scientists were set to meet with the agency's chief Saturday to discuss the chemicals BP is using to break up the oil slick. Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson's briefing on dispersants in Gulf Breeze, Florida, comes two days after the agency released results from its first round of toxicity testing on eight of the dispersants used in the Gulf.
The EPA study showed that the chemicals, when not mixed with oil, did not significantly disrupt the endocrine systems of marine life. But the agency has said it plans to conduct more tests of the toxicity of the dispersant when mixed with crude.ーーーー
The EPA study showed that the chemicals, when not mixed with oil, did not significantly disrupt the endocrine systems of marine life. But the agency has said it plans to conduct more tests of the toxicity of the dispersant when mixed with crude.ーーーー
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