Natural Gas Structures News

Wreckage in Gulf Poses Problems

Many unmarked marine hazards listed in the Coast Guard's latest Local Notice to Mariners, such as missing oil platforms to sunken boats to unidentified debris fields have been reported in the weekly updates since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita swept through the GOM oil patch. Even as some wreckage is located and cleaned up, more lost and sunken platforms -- or pieces of them -- are being discovered and reported to the Coast Guard every week. Since November, at least three ships have collided with wrecked oil platforms in the Gulf, with one incident resulting in one of the Gulf's largest oil spills. And with commercial and recreational fishing in the Gulf about to shift into high gear…