Bad weather still preventing SeaRose spill containment, Husky says

A leak from an oil vesselflowline350 kilometres from St. John's caused 250,000 litres of crude to spill into the sea Friday, and the extraction company responsible says it still can'tcontain the leakdue to poor weather conditions.

Two oilsheenshave been spotted on the ocean surface in the White Rosefield. Waves are still too high to investigate what caused the spill or whetherthe line to theSeaRoseFPSOis still losing crude, Husky Energy said Saturday.

Husky spokesperson Colleen McConnell said the company, alongside spill responders, are waiting for swells to subside before they can deploy underwater rovers. Until then, the company can't say whether the vessel'sflowlineis secure or intact.

McConnell said a second observation flight is planned for today, and two buoys have been released to track the spill.

TheSkandiVinland, an offshore supply vessel, has been tasked by Husky with deploying remote-controlled vehicles onceswells shrink to four metres, McConnell said.

'Russian roulette'

BillMontevecchi, who studies seabirds at Memorial University, says it's inaccurate to call the incident a "spill."

"What we're seeing is not an accident. It is the outcome of weak regulation," he said. "The platform, which had shut down presumably because of storm sea conditions on the Grand Bank, was then going back into operation at a time when clearly it should not have been doing that.

"It's like playing Russian roulette and the bullet just happened to be in the chamber on this one. That should not be an option."

Montevecchisaid the regulatory board is "scandalously close" to the industry.

"We need independent people out there. We've been asking for that for 25 years,"Montevecchisaid. "You don't ask a corporation that's liable for oil spills toself-report what's happening. A system like that is is corrupted before it even starts."

He expressed concern for the wildlife in the area of the spill, which could include tens of thousands of murresand dovekies. Free-floating oil separates the plumage of seabirds, allowing cold water to penetrate to the birds' skin and causing them to freeze to death.

A spill from the Terra Nova platform in 2004 killed thousands of seabirds an outcome that stricter rules could have prevented, Montevecchisaid.

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