US Evacuates First Oil Spill Vessels Due To Storm

22nd Jul 2010 19:46

NEW ORLEANS (AFP)--The U.S. government and BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) on Thursday started evacuating "specialized vessels" working on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill due to a looming storm, the Coast Guard said. "The protection of the equipment and crew is paramount to ensure maximum ability to respond to any new challenges a storm may pose to the enormous mission," said a statement from Coast Guard Rear Adm. Paul Zukunft. A full-scale evacuation could delay by up to two weeks the final operation to plug BP's runaway well, which has unleashed millions of barrels of crude on Gulf Coast shorelines in one of America's worst ever environmental disasters. "Activities that are underway for storm preparedness include evacuating specialized vessels from the path of any severe weather to prevent damage and ensure that oil recovery operations can resume as soon as possible after a storm," the Coast Guard statement said. "Additionally, boom is being removed from marsh areas where oil is not threatening the shore to prevent damage from the heavy equipment getting pushed into the delicate area by strong winds and high tides." The "repositioning" was designed to protect "people, boats, boom and other equipment while planning for the safe and speedy resumption of oil spill recovery after a storm," it said. (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 22, 2010 14:46 ET (18:46 GMT)