Oil spill latest: Costne's announcement (UPDATE)

Oil spill latest: Costner in Washington

A few weeks have passed since Kevin Costner's company, Ocean Therapy Solutions, claimed to have the necessary siphoning equipment to separate the crude oil from the Gulf of Mexico, in an effort to reduce the environmental impact of the oil spill and prevent further damage to the environmentally delicate gulf and wetlands.

Hollywood star Mr. Costner, who has pumped $26 million of his own fortune into the project, visited New Orleans - one of the sites of the catastrophe - and expressed his desire that BP trial his company's machines. Mr. Costner claimed that they currently have five oil collecting machines, ranging in clean-up capacity, from five gallons a minute to 200 gallons a minute.

"The machine works on the principle of centrifugal force. In this case, diesel fuel and water enter the machine together and are jettisoned separately, with water on one side and diesel on the other. The machine will clean the water up to 97 percent," officials from Ocean Therapy Solutions also told Gulf station WDSU last week.

Despite promising results in early trials, Ocean Therapy Solutions have flown under the media radar, and their progress in the clean-up process has gone relatively unnoticed.

Ocean therapy Solutions press release

Today, however, the media department has released a statement claiming that: "Ocean Therapy Solutions conducted successful tests of its centrifuge devices in brown water this weekend and we plan to test the machines in deeper, blue water today. The blue water tests were delayed as we continue to outfit the barges with proper powers, pumps and crew quarters. We are pleased with the results we have obtained so far and continue to make adjustments to the machines to maximize their performance. The tests remain closed to media as we continue our work."

Mr. Costner is due to testify on behalf of Ocean Therapy Solutions in Washington D.C. tomorrow morning, before the House Committee on Science and Technology. The hearing will focus upon clean-up technologies and is entitled 'Deluge of Oil Highlights Research and Technology Needs for Effective Cleanup of Oil Spill. Live streaming will be available from the event which will take place in the Rayburn Office Building.

BP has so far been unable to stem the flow, and despite the LMRP being successfully placed onto the BOP this week, oil still continues to leak into the Gulf, meaning that siphoning vessels can't come quick enough.

Update

Watch Kevin Costner's speech to Congress.

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