ON THE GULF OF MEXICO – BP crews faced delays Saturday as they slowly raised the 300-ton blowout preventer that failed to stop oil from spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, taking care not to damage or drop a key piece of evidence in the spill investigation.
The device was about 500 feet from the surface and likely wouldn’t be hoisted onto the deck of the Helix Q4000 vessel until about 7 p.m. EDT, said BP PLC spokesman Neil Chapman. Darin Hilton, the vessel’s captain, said crews have to wait for icy hydrates to melt off the contraption before it can be brought aboard.
FBI agents are on board waiting to take possession of the device – a key piece of evidence in the investigation into the Gulf oil spill – after its mile-long journey. It will eventually be taken to a NASA facility in Michoud, La., to be analyzed.
The 50-foot device was detached from the wellhead Friday afternoon. Another blowout preventer had successfully been placed on the blown-out well, the government said later.
The April 20 explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon killed 11 workers and led to 206 million gallons of oil spewing from BP’s undersea well.