Tropical storm threat in Gulf : Ships evacuated

Gulf of Mexico, July 23, 2010: Dozens of ships in the Gulf of Mexico have been ordered to leave the site of the BP oil spill by the US government as Tropical Storm Bonnie gathers pace.
Incident commander Admiral Thad Allen said the well would remain capped while ships evacuated the Gulf. Drilling on a relief well has been suspended for up to two weeks.
Bonnie is the second named storm of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season, with wind speeds of 40mph (65km/h), the US National Hurricane Center says.
Forecasters say the edge of the tropical storm could reach the spill area by early on Saturday.
It has already caused flooding in Haiti, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic and is moving north-west over the Bahamas, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
Many of the boats and drilling rigs responding to the oil spill were preparing to move to safety from Thursday night, said Adm Allen.
“This includes the rig drilling the relief well that will ultimately kill the well, as well as other vessels needed for containment,” he said.
The operation to permanently block the well would be delayed, but “the safety of individuals at the well site is our highest concern,” Adm Allen said.
Vessels were being positioned in a way that would allow crews “to promptly re-start oil mitigation efforts as soon as the storm passes,” he added.
A “packer”, a plug used during storms, has been placed in the relief well to stabilise it while workers leave the site.
Earlier on Thursday, Adm Allen said increasing confidence in the security of a new cap placed on the leaking well had convinced scientists it would be safe to leave the capped well unmonitored for several days.