A SUPERTANKER has begun skimming oil in the Gulf of Mexico as the disaster became the worst accidental spill on record, surpassed only by the deliberate release by Iraqi troops during the 1991 Gulf War. An estimated 35,000 to 60,000 barrels of oil per day has been gushing out of the ruptured well since the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon drilling rig sank on April 22 about 80km off the coast of Louisiana.

A containment system has captured about 557,000 barrels of oil, but rough seas have delayed the deployment of a third vessel which is set to increase capacity from 25,000 barrels to 53,000 barrels a day. That means an estimated 1.9 to 3.6 million barrels of oil has now gushed into the Gulf.