Gulf Oil Spill Shifts Northeastward
Shifting winds pushed an oil slick from the supertanker Mega Borg northeastward Sunday, and Coast Guard officials alerted communities north of Galveston to Louisiana that tar balls could soon be washing up on their shores.
“The way it’s going, no one will be surprised if they see tar balls on the beach tomorrow morning,” Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer Rick Meidt said.
Oil-eating microbes spread over part of the slick appear to have done their job, but officials said they launched another experiment Sunday to make sure.
The 30-mile slick has stretched into a light sheen in places and continued to drift away from the tanker, crippled 57 miles offshore from Galveston since the June 8 explosion. Officials said Sunday that the leaking apparently had stopped.
Emergency cleanup crews had expected the Angolan crude to begin washing ashore late Sunday near Galveston, but a morning flyover showed the slick moving north-northeast of the area.
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