Should BP be using supertankers to clean up the Gulf? Or is the expense too great?

[Karmadillo]

On Edit: Has this been debunked? Is there any good reason for supertankers not being brought in ASAP?

http://www.fastcompany.com/1646820/could-the-gulf-oil-spill-could-cleaned-up-by-supertankers

<edit>

In an interview with FastCompany.com, Hofmeister explained that a little-known Saudi oil spill from an offshore platform in the early 1990s dumped more crude into the sea than any spill in U.S. history (think hundreds of millions of gallons). But the government and local press kept it quiet. And that's why one of the big fixes in the Saudi oil spill--the oil-skimming supertanker--hasn't been publicized.

"<They> figured out how to deploy supertankers that had the ability to both intake and discharge liquids in vast quantities with huge pumps," Hofmeister explained. "The supertankers could simply suck in seawater and oil simultaneously--they can hold millions of barrels--and when full, they could discharge oil at a port into tanks where they could separate oil from water. The idea is novel in that you can get massive of oil amounts quickly." Once the supertankers make it to to the port, water can be treated and discharged, and oil can either be used or destroyed.

Pozzi saw the technique used in the Middle East, where it recovered 85% of the oil from the Saudi spill. And he thinks it could work in the Gulf of Mexico. "The only downside is that you tie up oil tankers. That's why we think that BP won't listen to us. They don't want to spend that extra money."

After learning about the supertanker technique a few weeks ago, Hofmeister decided to bring it to the government's attention. "I've been trying to connect engineers with decision-makers at the Coast Guard and in the interior department," he said.

more...

[spin]

1. The simple answer is, "YES" (n/t)

[Pirate Smile]

2. A Scientist on Tweety last week said that the Saudi spill must have been very contained for it to

work. He didn't think it would work in the middle of the gulf were it can move out in all directions. Some more specifics about the Saudi spill would be helpful but I see a lot of chatter on it, not a lot of specifics.

[Bitwit1234]

3. You are correct he also said

that there would not be enough room to maneuver in the Gulf and that it would not work there.

[Feron]

8. Tankers maneuver in the Gulf all the time.

They unload their cargo at an offshore port near Port Fourchon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Offshore_Oil_Port

Skimmers can be used to collect the oil and the tankers can then suck it up. And the tankers can be staged in an out of the way location or smaller vessels can carry the oil to the tankers.

It can be done if the gov't/BP actually gave a damn about Louisiana.

[amborin]

6. is that in part due to bp's massive dumping of dispersants?

what about the reports of the dutch skimming ships rejected by the EPA? they could supposedly filter 95% of the oil from the intake water, then return that intake to the gulf, but w/ only 5% oil; our EPA said no, 5% too much

[Mike 03]

4. Yes, indeed, what is the anwer to this very good question?

Perfect post and question.

[Better Believe It]

5. Expense too great? It shouldn't cost us a penny. BP has billions it made from us.

[Raineyb]

7. I'm not at all interested in how much it costs BP. It could bankrupt the bastards for

all I care. Do it.

[Imajika]

9. This seems promising...

Thank you for posting it.

Makes a lot of sense and seems like something they should try regardless of how expensive it is.

[Karmadillo]

10. Is there anything we can do collectively to get this on the agenda? Mass emailings

to the media outlet most likely to run with it? Any suggestions? Supertankers obviously wouldn't stop the leak, but if their presence is feasible, it would at least mitigate the damage.

[Karmadillo]

11. Kick

nt

[mhatrw]

12. Of course we should be forcing BP to vacuum up this mess instead of sinking the oil

with the help of our USAF.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

13. I've called my Senator and Congress Critter and left them an earful.

We should all be very loudly voicing that Corexit needs to be stopped, and that we need to recover the oil as it surfaces.