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Coast Guard cleaning up Gulf oil spill

October 22, 2009

High seas and strong winds are complicating the cleanup of an 18,000-gallon fuel oil spill 40 miles southeast of Galveston in the Gulf of Mexico. The spill occurred Tuesday night when the 820-foot oil tanker Krymsk collided with offshore supply vessel AET Endeavor, according to the Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard is using dispersants to break up the oil slick because weather conditions have made on-water recovery methods impossible.

The spill is not currently affecting shipping traffic, the Coast Guard said.

The collision took place after the oil tanker Vega Star finished transferring 530,000 barrels of crude oil to the Krymsk, the Wall Street Journal reported. The AET Endeavor, which had assisted in the transfer, struck the Krymsk while retrieving equipment. The rupture spilled fuel oil used to power the Krymsk.

Tags: AET Endeavor, Gulf of Mexico oil spill, Krymsk, United States Coast Guard, USCG

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