CNN
July 3, 2010
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.
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. more …
