Giant skimmer ship awaits Gulf go ahead

As of this morning Nobu Su's giant skimmer, the converted 319,869 dwt ore/oil carrier A Whale, was in the Venice, La. area awaiting word on whether the Coast Guard and EPA would allow it to go to work on the Deepwater Horizon spill.

Owned by the Taiwanese billionaire's TMT Group, the A Whale appears to be a solution scaled to the size of the Gulf spill problem. It has 12 vents in each side that take in massive amounts of oily water that is then separated aboard ship, with the oil being retained on board and the cleaned water being returned to sea. Which is where there could be a problem with unrealistic EPA rules on the allowable oil content of the returned water.