Rough weather hinders barge salvage off U.S. Gulf Coast

Rough weather hinders barge salvage off U.S. Gulf Coast    Heavy seas caused by passing weather fronts have continued to frustrate the salvage and recovery of the double-hulled tank barge 'DBL 152,' which capsized Nov. 14 in the Gulf of Mexico, off the Louisiana coast.
   By mid-week, sea conditions had improved enough for divers to begin reconnecting lightering hoses to transfer oil remaining in the 441-foot barge. Three cargo tanks of the double-hulled barge, holding 1.3 million gallons of thick No. 6 fuel oil, were damaged and have leaked oil, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement. How much oil has been released is unknown at this time.
   'Initial surveys indicate that a large portion of the oil in the damaged cargo tanks leaked out and settled on the ocean floor,' the Coast Guard explained.
   'Responders are staging equipment to conduct sonar and video surveys of the submerged oil,' the Coast Guard said.
   More than half of the response days have been lost to rough weather.
   While under tow, the barge is suspected of having collided with debris from a submerged oil platform damaged during recent hurricanes.
   'No oil from the barge has reached either the Texas or Louisiana coast,' the Coast Guard said. The barge is presently about 29 miles due south of Calcasieu Pass, La., and about 100 miles due east of Galveston, Texas.