Inclement Weather Halts Explorer Cleanup

Bad weather has prevented crews from containing a nearly mile-long fuel spill, which was caused when the Canadian cruise ship Explorer hit an iceberg last week and sank off the coast of Antarctica. Reports say that the narrow spill is, for now, bottled up by large chunks of ice, but officials want to install barriers to isolate the slick. About 50,000 gallons of diesel fuel, 6,300 gallons of lubricant and 260 gallons of gasoline were onboard when the Explorer sank. No impact on penguins or other birds has been reported, though it is unclear whether the spill has affected marine life below the ice. (DE)