MENU
MENU
Posted in Deepwater Horizon,Environment,Gulf Coast,Louisiana Maritime News,US Coast Guard (USCG) on March 23, 2011
NEW ORLEANS, LA – This is a follow-up story to a previous article we posted on the recent oil slick that was spotted in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana near the site of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
New oil slick spotted in the Gulf of Mexico was investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard
In a separate incident, over a period of about 4 to 6 hours, an oily substance was reportedly washing ashore in parts of Louisiana on Grand Isle, Fourchon Beach and a state wildlife sanctuary on Elmer’s Island.
Earlier, there was some concern that the 100 mile oil slick was from the site of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, but the Coast Guard has determined that the oily substance washing on shore was not, in fact, from the Deepwater Horizon. The oily substance that was washing ashore was a separate incident from the 100 mile oil slick spotted by the helicopter pilot. The dark appearance of the 100 mile oil slick was probably not oil at all, but rather a plume of dark, muddy silt from the Mississippi River. The dark muddy water appeared to be an oil slick, but wasn’t.
A Coast Guard cutter was sent out to collect samples from the slick and found that it contained very little oil and grease.
In the separate incident where an oily substance was washing ashore, it was discovered that an oil well unrelated to the Deepwater Horizon was being plugged and that some leakage had occurred in the process of plugging the well, but that it was temporary and the oil well is now secured.
Booms were deployed in response to the leak. The disaster-response contractor, ES&H, was hired by the Coast Guard and has been authorized to purchase the necessary boom and equipment needed to clean up and contain the substance.
About 19,000 feet of boom was ordered for the operation.