NEW ORLEANS -- The Coast Guard says about 12,000 gallons of bunker oil have leaked from a cargo ship anchored in the Gulf of Mexico near Venice.
It says 3- to 5-foot waves and lack of any concentrated spill has kept the 220-foot Louisiana Responder, a ship owned by Marine Spill Recovery Corp., from cleaning up any oil. A news release says the vessel Pac Alkaid reported the leak about 2 a.m. Friday, and the Coast Guard ordered it to move farther ashore to keep oil from washing onshore. It says the leak was caused by a 2-inch hole five feet below the waterline in a fuel tank that can hold nearly 120,000 gallons of bunker oil. The Coast Guard does not know what made the hole. The Coast Guard says O'Brien's Response Management hired the Louisiana Responder and commercial divers who inspected the hole and were waiting for parts to plug it. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
