Oil Spill Seas Calm; Kodiak ‘Seems Saved’

Rough seas that helped stall and break up some of the giant oil spill from the Exxon Valdez became calmer today, and winds shifted away from fish-rich Kodiak Island, the Coast Guard said.

“Kodiak still seems to be saved,” said Jim Hayden, the state of Alaska’s cleanup coordinator.

Coast Guard spokesman Ken Freeze said the spill appears to have stalled and is breaking up into tar balls. “That’s better than ooey-gooey oil,” he said.

Equipment continued to pour into the area aboard military transports. About 67 tons of material, everything from containment booms to absorbent pads, was arriving today.

A huge Soviet oil-skimming vessel, the Vay Dagursky, is expected to arrive Saturday, state officials said. The ship can skim 200,000 gallons an hour and store 2 million gallons of oil on board.