A physical oceanographer from the University of South Florida told a conference call that the BP oil spill may end up on the Florida shoreline if the spill connects with a Loop Current that sweeps around the Gulf of Mexico. If that occurs, the oil spill would be drawn south along Florida’s west coast shoreline and through the Florida Straits separating Florida and Cuba.
Robert Weisberg, the USF oceanographer, stated that the migration appears likely. The question remains how soon that will occur. “Once it’s at the entrance to the Florida Straits it’s only another week or so before it could be in the vicinity of Miami or Palm Beach and one more week or so until it could be as far north as Cape Hatteras,” Weisberg said.
However, speculation depends a great deal on the prevailing winds. No one is certain where the spill will end up coming ashore.

As the public grows increasingly alarmed at the environmental dangers posed by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, British Petroleum officials are preparing to try a procedure that’s never been performed. BP will attempt dropping a 98 ton steel container over the oil spill in order to funnel the oil to a ship, the Deepwater Enterprise. BP officials concede the operation may not work since its never been attempted in deep water. The container and dome are to be placed over the well’s leaking riser pipe 1,500 meters underwater, capturing a mixture of oil and water that will be separated once funneled onto the ship.
In the meantime, the oil from the BP spill continues to migrate toward Gulf coast communities in Mississippi, Louisiana, and the Panhandle of Florida.
Yesterday, BP CEO Tony Hayward informed US Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) that the economic impact would clearly top the $75 million cap imposed on oil companies after the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill.
Attorneys General from 5 Gulf Coast states are drafting a letter to BP officials demanding clarification concerning company statements that it will pay for “legitimate” claims. As the environmental disaster continues, Gulf Coast fishermen are preparing for the worst. Many will suffer a devastating economic loss due to the oil spill.

British Petroleum (BP) will surely face a class action lawsuit as a result of the behavior in the Gulf of Mexico. Besides their responsibility for the Gulf cleanup, they’ll also be held accountable for the economic loss and devastation their negligence has caused in the recent oil spill.
After the Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989 a federal law was passed to make the oil company responsible for the spill and the costs associated with it. This law will govern BP’s liability and responsibility for the cleanup as well as compensating fishermen and others whose livelihoods have been threatened by the BP oil spill. The 1989 law set a $75 million cap on damages but the BP spill will likely exceed that amount. In response to the Gulf spill, several Democratic senators have introduced legislation that would raise that cap to $10 billion. It’s not clear whether such legislation, if signed into law, would be retroactive to cover this BP oil spill in the Gulf.

British Petroleum aka BP will have to pay for the massive clean-up after one of its oil drilling rigs exploded last week. The resulting environmental disaster has yet to be contained. The ensuing economic disaster for Gulf Coast businesses stretching from Mississippi to Florida is yet to be determined. However, as a a law firm with demonstrated expertise and experience in environmental litigation, we’re taking cases concerning those who’ve been affected by the BP oil spill. BP, one of the largest oil companies in the world, makes huge profits and needs to be held accountable for its negligence in the Gulf of Mexico. Large companies, including oil companies, need to be responsible members of the community.