Four will skim oil off the surface, four others are carrying 20 miles of floating oil barriers and three have chemicals to break down the oil. However, the company's safety and environment chief Irani Varela said the barriers would have little effect in the rough seas where waves have reached six feet high. The clean up operation is expected to take four days and the winds and tide will likely carry the oil out to sea. Navy divers and engineers had fought to keep it afloat with nitrogen and compressed air, but after partly righting the listing rig, the platform began to sink again on Monday and they abandoned the task. As the massive structure went under, oil workers, many in tears, looked on from a nearby ship.
Critics say the company is farming out jobs to under qualified firms, increasing the risk to safety.