Wtf? Why couldn't this boat join the clean up effort in the Gulf?

"A super-tanker skimmer known as the A Whale, capable of collecting 500,000 barrels of oily water a day, is en route to the Gulf, but its owners have not been assured that it can join the surface clean-up effort. Some members of Congress have criticized the administration for not moving faster to ask for international skimming fleets to help corral more of the slick."

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0626/Gulf-oil-spill-Could-toxic-storm-make-beach-towns-uninhabitable

the GOM right now.

A Whale could handle 500,000 barrels of oily water a day, or slightly less than what all the skimmers now in the Gulf have gathered in more than 60 days on the job, Su said.

A no-brainer? Not quite.

Because the vessel is Taiwanese and was built in South Korea, it needs an exemption from the Jones Act, a federal law requiring commercial ships doing business in U.S. coastal waters to be American-flagged.

http://hamptonroads.com/2010/06/massive-oilskimming-ship-makes-stop-norfolk

Jones Act waivers would not be a problem. Jones Act only applies 3 miles out from state waters.

under maritime law which limited their liability.
The Transocean vessel was flagged in the Marshall Islands.

Wonder if it got any exception?

What happens if this makes BP mad? It's obvious BP never wanted this ship in the gulf.

We should be very careful that we don't rock the BP boat.
We are very highly completely dependent upon BP for our future.

Tin foil hat time::: Biden is to be there in the gulf for the first time, just as this ship shows up for the first time!! Is this his beginning bid for the 2012 campaign?

Super tankers aren't the fastest moving ship. There are proticals for this type of thing.. However, there needs to be a better command of foreign and domestic aid. Its more than likely Pres. Obama knows nothing about the offer of this vessel to come in and help. Now the media is on it, it'll get done. Its like the coast guard stopping the other ships to count life vests. They were over-ridden. (personally I believe that the oil co's would rather not collect all that they are liable for--- why else burn and use dispersants which is really toxic)

if not impossible.

Skimming, as I understand it, relies on the simple chemistry principle that oil floats on water.

BP, as part of their PR campaign to deceive the American Subject Populace (especially early on, before the disaster became too large to contain with mere PR lies), used millions of gallons of Corexit, which is a polar molecule/detergent which break up the oil and sinks it.

Corexit is still in use, albeit at reduced levels. (if one can believe BP and the NYT - which is not a given)

In either case, so much of the oil is now NOT on the surface, that skimming can't work nearly as well as it normally would.

If any DUer has any information that my assessment is incorrect, please post it as a reply, because I am genuinely interested if my assessment is incomplete or otherwise partially incorrect.

They hope to get the papers when the boat is en route to the Gulf.

The process has JUST BEGUN.

They have NOT BEEN DENIED.

Good grief!

And why do people not try FactCheck.org?


Q: Did Obama turn down foreign offers of assistance in cleaning up the Gulf oil spill? Did he refuse to waive Jones Act restrictions on foreign-flag vessels?

A: No to both questions. So far, five offers have been accepted and only one offer has been rejected. Fifteen foreign-flag vessels are working on the cleanup, and none required a waiver.

FULL QUESTION

Is it true that Obama blocked foreign help with cleaning up the Gulf oil spill because he refused to waive the Jones Act, which requires all boats to be American made and crewed by Americans to work in U.S. waters, even though it has been routinely waived for similar events?

FULL ANSWER

We’ve received several questions about the federal government’s response to the oil spill. This one claims that a provision of the Merchant Marine Act, called the Jones Act, has prohibited foreign vessels from entering U.S. waters and assisting in the cleanup.

Some critics have charged — falsely — that Obama’s refusal to waive the Jones Act has kept foreign vessels from assisting in cleanup efforts. In a June 23 interview on "Fox & Friends," Republican Rep. Charles Djou of Hawaii was asked by show host Gretchen Carlson about the Jones Act and why the administration was refusing foreign assistance. Djou answered:

Support for your statement?



http://www.wkrg.com/gulf_oil_spill/article/oil-skimming-ship-en-route-to-gulf-of-mexico/900033/Jun-25-2010_11-42-am

said the reason for the delay in approval was that the cleaned water was still too polluted to put back in GOM...

Captain made comment that the cleaned water would be better than what it was with oil in it...or something like that.

By STEVE SZKOTAK
Associated Press Writer

NORFOLK, Va. -- With no assurances it will be allowed to join the Gulf oil cleanup, a Taiwanese-owned ship billed as the world's largest skimming vessel was preparing to sail Friday evening to the scene of the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

The ship - the length of 3 1/2 football fields and 10 stories high - is designed to collect up to 500,000 barrels of oily water a day through 12 vents on either side of its bow. It docked in Norfolk en route to the Gulf from Portugal, where it was retrofitted to skim the seas. The ship and its crew of 32 were to leave Virginia waters Friday evening.

The owners of the "A Whale" said the ship features a new skimming approach that has never been attempted on such a large scale. They are anxious to put it to its first test in the Gulf.

"We really have to start showing people what we can do," said Bob Grantham, project coordinator for TMT Group, a Taiwan-based shipping company.

The company is still negotiating with the Coast Guard to join the cleanup and does not have a contract with BP to perform cleanup work. The company also needs environmental approval and waiver of a nearly century-old law aimed at protecting U.S. shipping interests.

Environmental Protection Agency approval is required because some of the seawater returned to the Gulf would have traces of oil.

The Coast Guard, which has received more than 2,000 cleanup proposals, said the supertanker skimmer had survived a preliminary review and was being studied further.

Capt. Ron LaBrec said that initial review involves a number of government agencies, including the EPA.

One question, he said, is: "Will a large vessel like this be able to operate this in this kind of area?"

If the ship passes the additional review, its owners could then negotiate terms with BP. He could not provide an estimated timetable for the review would be completed.

The company said it also needs a waiver of the 1920 Jones Act, which limits the activities of foreign-flagged ships in coastal U.S. waters. The A Whale is Liberian-flagged vessel.

Grantham said TMT was hopeful it could secure the necessary approvals during the ship's three-day passage to the Gulf.


http://newsessentials.blogspot.com/

Which Republican members haven't?

CSM sucks ass as a source.

Might as well use Newsmax.

Don