UPDATE: Large Tanker To Aid Clean Up Of US Gulf Oil Spill

25th Jun 2010 18:32

(Adds details.) By Reza Amanat Of Dow Jones Newswires LONDON (Dow Jones)--A Very Large Ore Oiler, or VLOO, has been drafted into help clean up the oil spill in the U.S. Gulf, although it wasn't immediately clear who had chartered the vessel, a shipping source in London said Friday. The ship, 'A Whale,' which has a deadweight of 319,000 metric tons and is 330 meters long, is believed to have the capacity to draw up 500,000 barrels of oily water during an eight-to-ten-hour period, the shipping source said. The vessel, owned by Today Makes Tomorrow shipping, formerly Taiwanese Maritime Transport, was built in January 2010 and was modified to have openings at her bow in Portugal earlier this month. The ship is believed to have arrived at the U.S. Atlantic Coast of Norfolk on Thursday, the shipping source said. VLOO's are able to carry both dry and wet cargoes. The rate for the vessel is unknown but the shipping source said the benchmark rate for a Very Large Crude Carrier--with a capacity to haul 2 million barrels of oil--sailing from the Persian Gulf to Japan stands at $50,000 a day. -By Reza Amanat, Dow Jones Newswires; 4420-7842-9487; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 25, 2010 13:32 ET (17:32 GMT)