Brussels, 11/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 11 June, the European Commission announced that the EU was willing to send additional specialised equipment to the United States for oil recovery in order to contain the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. During the evening of Thursday 10 June, the US authorities made a request for various types of booms to restrict the oil's spreading.
Sweden, Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) responded positively to this demand by offering booms and more offers are expected in the next few hours, a Commission spokesman said. “We are waiting for the United States to say whether it accepts this equipment or not”, he added.
The United States had already called on the EU at the end of May for a specific type of sweeping arm to be attached to ships gathering oil (EUROPE 1058). Three of them, provided by the Netherlands, are currently being used in the Gulf. Spain and the EMSA have also offered additional sweeping arms. (L.C./transl.jl)