全球最大溢油回收船前往墨湾除油

1、全球最大溢油回收船前往墨湾除油一艘号称全球最大、隶属台湾海陆运输公司（TMT Group）的溢油回收船鲸鱼号（A Whale），已于美东时间二十五日晚间从美国维吉尼亚州诺佛克港出发，前往英国石油公司（）在墨西哥湾深水地平线钻油平台的爆炸现场，等候成为除油生力军。( - K& L$ 6 I8 z9 ?) A: C9 Y( Q7 l鲸鱼号是全球最大溢油回收船，船身长度约 3.5个美式足球场。3 m' f. a, J; L8 o( A.   D/ O7 Z0 v1 l5 d9 s鲸鱼号船长与三十二名船员表示，他们会在三天后抵达墨西哥湾。表示，鲸鱼号配备有新式、过去

2、不曾在如此大规模漏油事件中使用过的汲油方式，因此渴望能在墨西哥湾测试身手；该公司专案总监葛兰森说，他们非常希望贡献一己之力。该公司执行长苏信吉说，他在发现墨西哥湾的灾难性漏油需要特殊的清除方式后，就把刚在南韩完工的鲸鱼号油轮改造为汲油船。9 1 y2 X% h1 b1 ) m" o0 S( C1 i# V# D! b* l2 _每天可汲取50万桶油# u* Z" a+ W. G5 d  O$ M2 T% q5 k& h8 _$ 透过位于船首两侧的十二个阀口，十层楼高、长度相当于三五个美式足球场的鲸鱼号，一天就能从布满浮油的海面上汲取多达五十万桶的

3、油，此一数量只比目前墨西哥湾上所有除油船在过去六十多天所处理的漏油稍微少一点。鲸鱼号汲取的漏油会先经过与海水分离的手续，再转输送到另外一艘船。8 8 z. i7 S& L* f" a3 K; Y& * o+ b* w. o3 N' j1 目前仍就悬挂赖比瑞亚国旗的鲸鱼号加入除油任务与美国海岸防卫队协商，而且并未就清除漏油与签约。此外，该公司还需要通过环保核准以及一项近百年的保护美国船运利益的法律通融，才能成为清除墨西哥湾漏油的生力军。A massive oil-skimming ship is headed for the Gulf:9 1 p+ _; o&a

4、mp; a  a0 w  V) E/ q3 L8 o% z/ D    “The ship the length of 3 1/2 football fields and 10 stories high is designed to collect up to 500,000 barrels of oily water a day through 12 vents on either side of its bow. It docked in Norfolk en route to the Gulf from Portugal, wh

5、ere it was retrofitted to skim the seas. The ship and its crew of 32 were to leave Virginia waters Friday evening.1 n; T( ?3 J0 " N& Y. C0 j" A7 W+ E# |4 l( M    The owners of the “A Whale” said the ship features a new skimming approach that has never been attempted on such a

6、 large scale. They are anxious to put it to its first test in the Gulf.) K! |( a" l- z8 % k% t    *2 7 N. U' m# 6 q& w- J7 r    The converted oil tanker has the capacity of holding 2 million barrels, but would limit its holding tanks to 1 million barrels for environm

7、ental reasons. Oil skimmed up by the tanker would be separated from seawater, then transferred to another vessel.9 Q3 d: |( y% |' u7 N, r$ c" P$ t, c3 R2 R& ! A- W4 i* X: B  b    Its owners claim the ship could gulp oily water at a daily rate that nearly matches the

8、skimming total to date in the Gulf.4 a8 |$ E( 1 C$ Y7 P% x, G8 L& d9 L% S. r# O( J    Nobu Su, CEO and founder of TMT group, compared the massive ship to a whale scooping up small fish. He said cappuccino-colored oily water would be processed through several tanks to extract oil the co

9、lor of espresso.( r4 ( o. B! n$ y4 s% z; N: V: x& b3 C4 k$ b! r' n7 m8 v    He said the ship was engineered to skim oil shortly after its construction in South Korea this year after he recognized the “catastrophic” oil spill would require extraordinary measures./ ! P1 Z/ M; T' r- l/ l; U/ L0 v5 z& K    “I believe this spill is unprecedented and you need an unprecedented solution,” said T.K. Ong, senior vice president for TMT.”& X* W4 L# H/ 8 ; % j2 k* J5 |6 a8 E0 The ship will need a Jones Act waiver, EPA approval, and review by