by Jason Lamb
Thursday, June 24, 2010
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- An Alaska-based Coast Guard cutter is headed south to help out in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
The Coast Guard says the Sycamore is currently en route to the gulf. Its crew of 42 will join more than 70 Alaska Coast Guard personnel already in the region. The Coast Guard says the cutter will add more capabilities for their crews to help out.
"Probably one of the most important things is, they can do pollution response and serve as a command-and-control platform," said Coast Guard spokesperson Sarah Francis. "These buoy tenders are equipped with a spill-response capability -- it's known as the Spilled Oil Recovery System -- so they can deploy a skimmer and oil containment equipment."
The ship is expected to be deployed for several months.
Contact Jason Lamb at jlamb@ktuu.com
