Measures are being put in place to combat tar balls which could wash up on the Island’s shores due to the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

According to Director of Environmental Protection Fred Ming, the Ministry of Environment has been testing a beach comber since May in case oil reached Bermuda’s shores. The machine has proven to be effective in picking up oil in other jurisdictions affected by the spill.

Ten are currently being used on the Gulf clean-up and are working very well, said Dr. Ming, who added: “So I think our preparations are looking fairly good. We are just trying to monitor the situation.”

The Ministry is also launching an ocean monitoring programme and may use the cargo ship Somers Isle to monitor whether the oil is moving closer to the Island.

* To read the full story, see tomorrow’s edition of The Royal Gazette.