One-ton "mass of tarball material" recovered from Gulf
Petty Officer 3rd Class John Walker / US Coast Guard via Reuters
One of two, one-ton masses of tarball material, that was recovered June 11, 2010, south of Perdido Pass, Florida, is seen on the deck of the liftboat Sailfish, a Vessel of Opportunity working in the largest oil spill response in U.S. history, June 11, 2010. U.S. President Barack Obama and top BP executives are set for a showdown over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill this week, as the likely damages bill piles more pressure on the oil giant's shares. Picture taken June 11, 2010.
Lisa Novak, a civilian employee of the Coast Guard, returned our call to clarify that the one ton of "tarball material" was not, in fact, "found" as the first version of this post's headline said. Instead, it is an aggregation of material collected from the Gulf of Mexico by Vessels of Opportunity, private boats contracted by BP to assist in the cleanup effort. A press release from the Deepwater Horizon Unified Command, "Innovation Improves Tar Ball Removal Capability," describes the process:
"The crew of one of the thousands of Vessels of Opportunity (VOO) working in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill recently recovered approximately two tons of tarball material in the Gulf of Mexico.
The recovery was the result of the kind of creative thought and innovation at work among the more than 27,000 people working around the clock in the Gulf of Mexico in the largest oil spill response in U.S. history.
Designed by Gerry Matherne, a BP contractor and nearshore task force leader, the idea is simple. A shrimp boat with outriggers on each side drags mesh oil-collection bags made of perforated webbing near the ocean surface. As the boat trawls to collect oil patches, the bags, attached to an aluminum frame, collect oil. When filled, the bags are disconnected from the frame by crew on support vessels, and then towed to a lift barge for hoisting into a collection barge."