2010 BP Oil Spill

Attempts by BP are being made to stop the oil leak taking over the Gulf Coast. Yesterday BP lowered a cap over the ruptured well in hopes of decreasing the oil flow. The horrendous spill which has been pouring out hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil over the past six weeks has already met with the islands of Mississippi and Alabama and is fast approaching Florida. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Tony Russell understands, “Even if successful, this is only a temporary and partial fix, and we must continue our aggressive response.” Due to some difficulties with cutting the pipe, there is a chance that the seal will not work because the cap may not be snug enough. Check out the live coverage from MSNBC.
BP believes all the caps will not be fully covered until August. This is frightening because according to National Underwriter, in an article from May 10th, damage estimates were at $1.4 billion (and that was a month ago!). Who knows what it will be up to by August.
In the meantime, BP is working vigorously in response to this disaster. They are gathering a task force of thousands of people including those in the community, company employees, contractors and volunteers to train and use as assistance in the clean up and prevention of further damage. You can find out everything BP is doing to help the wildlife, the shoreline, and those in the community on the BP website.
Everyone here at Bucci Insurance is sending their thoughts and prayers from Rhode Island to all of those affected by this oil spill.

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill could end up being the worst spill in U.S. history; the oil streaming out of a broken pipe 5,000 feet below sea level can not be stopped. This may end up being the worst environmental disaster in decades because numerous species are endangered in the water and along the Gulf coast, which is one of the richest seafood grounds that the U.S. has to offer. At the rate that the pipe is leaking, 200,000 gallons a day, many are saying that the spill will surpass the 11 million that Exxon Valdez spilled. It could end up spilling about four Exxon Valdez spills a week! By having the Exxon Valdez spill to look back at, many would think that the government, the Coast Guard and BP could have handled the situation a little better.  

Fishermen all over the Gulf Coast are worried about what this spill will mean for their livelihood. Some of the people who work on the Gulf Coast are angry with everyone involved in the spill because they felt like they were lied to. The fishermen and other workers were being told that only 1,000 gallons spilled when they believe that the people involved knew there was actually more. The fishers are trying to be accommodated by having an emergency shrimping season so that they can get all of their catches before the oil seeps in. Oyster fishers are trying to get as many oysters as they can before the oil reaches the shore. For many people who work on the Gulf Coast, fishing is all that they know.  Frank Jurisich a fisherman on the Gulf Coast told the Associated Press that without the fishing industry his family “would be lost. This is who we are and what we do.”

BP is aware that many, if not all of the fishermen from the Mississippi River to the Florida Panhandle are concerned about their livelihood, because over 6,800 square miles of federal fishing area is closed. That is why BP said today that it will pay for all of the coasts to clean up the oil spill. They also said that they would compensate for legitimate claims of property damage, personal injury and commercial losses. While BP was not responsible for the accident, because the equipment that failed belonged to Transocean Ltd., they are responsible for the oil that spilled and cleaning it up. Right now crews are still laying booms to control the spill, which is becoming a slow effort. Associated Press stated that, “the plan to lower 74-ton, concrete-and-metal boxes being built to capture the oil and siphon it to a barge waiting at the surface will need at least another six to eight days to get it in place.” BP said that if the boxes do not work they will start to build two more wells to relieve the press, but that will take about three months.

While the effort to clean up is slow, at least we can say that BP is taking responsibility to clean it up and they are trying all that they can to get the problem solved as quickly as possible. They do not want this spill to cause fishermen to be out of work, nor do they want to endanger the lives of animals living in the waters. At Bucci Insurance, we can only hope that this spill will get cleaned up fairly soon, so that those living along the Gulf Coast can feel safe. Please remember to come to Bucci Insurance for all of your insurance needs. We are here to help you with a disaster like the oil spill or the flood of 2010.