Reports are beginning to come in that there is now a mile-long oil sheen spreading from the site of the Vermilion Oil Rig explosion.
According to Coast Guard Petty Officer Bill Coklough, the oil sheen is about 100 feet wide and was spotted near the platform operated by Mariner Energy.
Three firefighting vessels have already been dispatched to the site of the explosion and one of them has engaged in fighting the blaze at this hour.
The platform of the oil rig sits in approximately 340 feet of water and lies about 100 miles south of Vermilion Bay off the Louisiana coast. That depth is much more shallow than the 5,000+ feet where BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and spewed oil three months.
All 13 people aboard the rig were found alive and floating in the water.
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