Gulf of Mexico oil slick closes in on Florida

With the slick only nine miles away from the white sands of Pensacola beach on the Florida panhandle, forecasters said southerly and westerly winds meant the state would almost certainly be hit by the end of the week.

While the coastline is a popular tourist destination, scientists are alarmed by the more distant threat to the fragile coral reefs of the Florida Keys off the state's south coast.



The 221-mile Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is the world's third-longest barrier reef and a crucial wildlife habitat.

Local oceanographers say the Gulf Loop Current, which pushes water in a clockwise direction around the Gulf at speeds of nearly 100 miles per day, will inevitably bring the oil to the Keys.

Oil pollutants can smother and kill tiny coral polyps, and chemical dispersants, a key weapon in BP's efforts so far, would cause oil droplets to sink on to the reef.

BP's current "cut and cap" operation to contain the spill encountered early problems yesterday when a diamond-edged saw being wielded by a robot submarine became stuck in a thick pipe on the ruptured well.

If the riser pipe can be cut short, engineers will try to place a cap over the oil gushing out and siphon most of it to the surface. However, the amount of oil coming out of the rupture could increase by up to 20 per cent.

BP is also working to drill two relief wells to stop the leak permanently but they will not be ready until August.

The oil giant, has spent £1 billion on dealing with the leak and has seen pounds 12 billion wiped off its share price since the disaster which destroyed its Deepwater Horizon rig.