Oil spill latest: another spill in the Gulf

Oil spill latest Ocean Saratoga leak

With crude oil and gas now covering over a third of the Gulf of Mexico, BP has been trying reactionary methods to try and stem the flow. For BP, President Obama and all those making a living on the Gulf waters, things really couldn't get worse, except, apparently, they can. A new federal document has revealed that there is another leak, 40 miles from the BP site, spewing more crude into the already oil saturated ocean.

The leak, although not close to the volume entering the Gulf from the Deepwater Horizon well, still has a slick 10 miles long and is visible from space. BP can take a sigh of relief though as the leaking rig, Ocean Saratoga belongs to Taylor Energy Corporation, and the operator, Diamond Offshore Drilling; both of whom have declined to comment.

"We accidentally discovered this spill looking at the Deepwater Horizon images. The question is, what would we see if we were systematically looking at the offshore industry?" said John Amos with Skytruth.org. "Is this an aberration, or are things like this going on all the time? That's why we are calling for public, transparent monitoring everywhere offshore drilling is going on in US waters."

Oil spill latest: Ocean Saratoga has sprung a leak

On 5 June, the Southwings environmental group flew over the Ocean Saratoga and captured photographs that appear to show a large oil crew boat pumping dispersants into the water at the spill site.

"It appeared the crew boat had barrels of dispersant on board," said Tom Hutchings of Southwings, a volunteer organization of pilots who monitor environmental problems from airplanes.

Henry Fair, a photographer for Industrial Scars.com, claimed the photos showed hoses going from the boat into the water, although how far into the ocean was unclear.

"I see a hose going over the side. The boat was not moving, but it was making a wake, disturbing the water a lot," Fair said. "I see a glossy slick that one would usually identify as petroleum, and it goes a long way away."

Officials at the National Response Center said that the spill had been reported, although they did not specify when the leak began. Although the Federal document claimed that the leak began on 30 April.

The Ocean Saratoga rig has been involved in previous incidents, including a March 2005 incident where the wellhead connector on the blowout preventer stack unlatched due to "poor procedures and human errors," according to a report by the Mineral Management Service, the government's offshore drilling regulator. As a result, 500 barrels of calcium chloride completion fluid was released.

Aside from the 10 mile oil slick, no figures ascertaining the extent of the leak have been released.

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