The World's largest oil skimmer is currently steaming its way toward the Gulf of Mexico - as it promises to be one of the last great chances for the government and environmental experts to save the area, which has been ravaged environmentally by a mass oil spill perpetrated by oil company BP.
According to the Washington Post:
The Taiwanese vessel dubbed "A Whale," which its owners describe as the largest oil skimmer in the world, began showing its capabilities on Saturday just north of the Macondo Deepwater well site. An April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig there killed 11 workers and began what is now the largest oil spill in Gulf history. The vessel will cruise a 25-square-mile test site through Sunday, according to TMT Shipping, the company that created A Whale by retrofitting an oil tanker after the explosion sent millions of gallons of crude spilling into the Gulf.
BP plans to pump heavy mud through one relief well to stop the leak from the broken well. The second relief well is being drilled as a backup. [Via WP]
