Oil Slick Could Create Major Headache for Gulf Shipping

(The New York Times)

Managers of some of the nation’s busiest ports are studying the massive oil slick blanketing a large swath of the Gulf of Mexico that could cut off shipments of grain, coal, poultry, coffee, forest products and chemicals.

At the 4,000-acre port complex in Mobile -- the nation’s ninth-busiest port -- it was business as usual yesterday with ships coming and going and cranes moving cargo, but officials behind the scenes were nervously watching weather forecasts and making contingency plans if the slick moves closer.

“I’m scared to death of the long-term implications,” said Jimmy Lyons, executive director and CEO of the Alabama State Port Authority. “Nobody knows what this thing is going to do.” […]

“The worst-case scenario for the ports is whether the ships stop calling in the ports of New Orleans, Mobile, Gulfport,” said Capt. Michael Lorino, a pilot who guides ships through the Mississippi River’s Southwest Pass in Louisiana and president of the Associated Branch Pilots Association. “If the risk is coming through [the oil slick] and getting contaminated, it may change the minds of the vessels calling in the port area.” Read more here.