South African salvors hope to rescue US oil industry

South African salvage experts and divers have been sent to the Gulf of Mexico near New Orleans to aid the mammoth effort to resurrect the storm-ravaged United States' oil industry after Hurricane Katrina.

Smit Marine South Africa and associate company Subtech have sent five specialists - an engineer, three divers and a technician - to join a salvage operation involving three oil rigs and two ships, said spokesperson Clare Gomes.

The hurricane cut a swath of destruction through the oil fields of the Gulf of Mexico, sinking or stranding ships and rigs.

Shipping experts are streaming in to help get oil production back on track as oil prices soar in the wake of the storm.

Source: www.iol.co.za