Giant oil skimmer A Whale being readied in Gulf of Mexico
The massive oil skimmer A Whale is being tested and readied to join the fight cleaning up the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. If all goes well the A Whale should be online this coming week. The Taiwanese vessel dubbed "A Whale," which its owners describe as the largest oil skimmer in the world, began showing its capabilities on Saturday just north of the Macondo Deepwater well site.
The vessel will cruise a 25-square-mile test site through Sunday, according to TMT Shipping, the company that created A Whale by retrofitting an oil tanker. The US Coast Guard, along with BP, are waiting to see if the 10 story tall vessel can live up to its makers' promise of being able to process up to 21 million gallons of oil-fouled water a day.
The massive skimmer works by taking in water through 12 vents, separating the oil and pumping the cleaned seawater back into the Gulf. "In many ways, the ship collects water like an actual whale and pumps internally like a human heart," TMT spokesman Bob Grantham stated. A Whale is being tested close to the wellhead because officials believe it will be most effective where the oil is thickest rather than closer to shore.
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