Technology to deal with environmental disaster cleanup is not always on the top of mind. And with the Gulf Oil Spill Disaster created by a BP oil rig failure, we are scrambling to find and use appropriate technology quickly and effectively.
The latest oil removal idea to come forward is from TMT, a Taiwanese shipping company with a supertanker called the "A Whale". The ship has been converted to operate as a giant oil skimmer that, according to company sources, can filter oil contaminated water from up to 500,000 barrels (21 million gallons) per day. The “A Whale” will be tested on Saturday, July 3rd to determine if it meets expectations for effective oil removal, according to a Reuters report released on last Thursday.
The massive Taiwanese tanker is a 335-meters or about 3 1/2 football fields long and rises 10 stories high with 6 ports cut into each side near its bow to capture contaminated water and send it to large internal separation tanks for “decanting”. “In the final stage of the process, the cleaner water can then be returned to the ocean while the heavy oil separated from the water is transferred to tankers for storage and final disposition,” according to TMT.
The supertanker was originally built as a conventional oil tanker but Nobu Su, CEO of TMT, rushed to convert it into an oil skimmer after the gulf spill occurred earlier this year. Sent to Portugal for refitting, the ship has arrived in Louisiana waters ready for testing.
It will float across the Gulf “like a lawnmower cutting the grass,” effectively doubling the skimming capability of the oil response effort, Su told reporters last week in Norfolk, Va.
But as with everything about this environmental disaster, the odds are building against success. Officials have declared this Gulf spill as the largest oil spill the Gulf of Mexico, having surpassed the 140.6 million- gallon mark that was previously recorded by the Ixtoc I oil spill in 1979 to 1980. Some experts are questioning whether it can fulfill the lofty expectations as the world watches.
The Taiwanese shipping company hopes to sign a contract with BP to assist in the oil spill cleanup once the US Coast Guard conducts a 48-hour test on the tanker. Retired US Coast Guard Admiral and point man for the spill response, Thad Allen, said on Thursday that he has "high hopes" for the vessel.
With Hurricane Alex shutting down other clean-up actions, can this massive ship beat the odds and help get the job done?