Gorgeous Blimp

.




Coast Guard: Blimp will fly over oil slick, weather permittingBy the CNN Wire Staff

July 9, 2010 9:28 a.m. EDT


[NO AUDIO]

New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) -- As people along the Gulf Coast deal with the "daunting challenges" posed by the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, federal responders are hoping to take advantage of a newly-poised aerial weapon in their arsenal Friday.

A U.S. Navy blimp could make its first flight Friday to survey the disaster area from above, Coast Guard officials said.

The 178-foot-long airship, known as the MZ-3A, has arrived at an airport in New Orleans and will fly over the oil slick Friday, weather permitting, Coast Guard Lt. Commander Paul Rooney said.

Officials hope the blimp will help reduce the time between spotting oil and getting skimmers to the scene.

"Having something at a low altitude that can stay on scene a very long time is extremely valuable. We are anxious to see how it works," retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said.

After several days of rough seas, improved weather Thursday was allowing oil skimmers to restart their cleanup efforts in the Gulf, said Allen. He added that forecasters expected good weather for the next seven to 10 days, and he hoped to make significant progress in the operation during "a weather window that we may not see again this summer."

In light of the improved weather, the Obama administration sent a letter signed by Allen to BP Chief Managing Director Bob Dudley Thursday demanding quick answers on oil containment and recovery.

The letter gave the oil giant 24 hours to respond to a question about the possibility of concurrently hooking up the oil-recovery vessel, the Helix Producer, and replacing the existing containment cap with a larger, more permanent one the Obama administration is calling the "sealing cap."

Allen said a team of scientists would meet to discuss the issue Friday.

Switching out the containment caps would increase the potential oil gathered each day to between 60,000 and 80,000 barrels, Allen said.

However, while the caps are being switched out, the 15,000 or so barrels of oil the Discoverer Enterprise ship is currently swallowing daily would flow freely into the Gulf, so having the Helix Producer up and running to gulp up the gushing oil would be crucial.

Scientists estimate 35,000 to 60,000 barrels of oil are spewing from BP's breached well each day.

The first relief well BP is drilling in the Gulf of Mexico could intercept the leaking Deepwater Horizon well in seven to 10 days, Allen said Thursday.

But the length of time it will take to seal the well will depend on "where the oil is coming up through, where they can intercept, where they can put the mud in, where they can put the cement plug."

The extended cleanup time has taken a serious toll on Gulf Coast residents and businesses.

"There's an uptick in violence...there's a strain on the community of the future. There's a strain on the community of the present, not being able to pay the bills that they have," Plaquemines Parish Councilman Don Beshel said.

The strain is also hitting the city of New Orleans. In Mayor Mitch Landrieu's first State of the City address Thursday, he said the BP oil crisis poses "daunting challenges" to his city.

"We do not know when the oil will stop gushing or what the final impact will be on our environment or our economy. We can feel that our entire way of life is threatened. From the fishermen in the Gulf to the waitress at Felix to the tour bus operator on Decatur. Our eyes are wide open and everyone one of us knows what is at stake," Landrieu said.

He added that he is waiting for answers from BP about requests for $75 million to fund tourism marketing and programs to train 500 New Orleans residents to work in the cleanup effort. "What people really want is the opportunity to work," Landrieu said.

But despite the mounting frustrations, oysterman Stanley Enclade said he will not leave.

"I came back after Katrina, man. This is home. I'm born and raised here. We're the third generation of people that's born and raised together. You just can't walk away and live somewhere else and be happy," he said.

CNN's Sanjay Gupta contributed to this report