Extraordinary Response for DWH oil spill

Captains,

Operating a fleet of 6,800 vessels and barges operating to recover 33 million gallons of mixed emulsified oil and 387 controlled burns which have removed another 11 million gallons of oil over the last 87 days are just part of the extraordinary Deepwater Horizon spill response. Novel concepts like giant sand berms and a tanker-skimmer were also tested.

RADM W

Photos tell different stories about sand berm effort to block Gulf of Mexico oil spill

Published: Wednesday, July 14, 2010, 6:15 PM Updated: Wednesday, July 14, 2010, 9:16 PM

Critics and supporters of building sand berms to shield Louisiana's coast from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill have released dueling photo sequences that alternately show one of the berms washing away or performing precisely as planned, depending on the eye of the beholder.

Former Louisiana State University marine sciences professor Len Bahr says this photo (with submerged heavy equipment) shows efforts to pile dredged sand into berms to protect the coast from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill may not be working.

Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration released a photo taken Tuesday of the same berm, which the governor said has captured more than 500 pounds of oily debris and is performing as planned.

'Super skimmer' a giant bust in Gulf cleanup

'All we found in the tanks was water, so it was very ineffective,' official says

Measuring an impressive 1,110 feet, the tanker was brought to the Gulf in early July. Officials hoped it would meet is potential of collecting as many as 500,000 barrels of contaminated water per day and make a dent in the 184.3 million gallons of crude oil that have already leaked from BP’s broken oil well.

However after weeks of tests, “A Whale” collected only negligible amounts of oil, leading to the conclusion that smaller skimming vessels are better suited for the Gulf spill.