What The Hell Were They Waiting For?

Katia Moskvitch the science reporter for the BBC reports that the captain, Yevgenii Chernyaev, of one of two Russian-built submersibles built to go down to depths of 6,000 metres, has said his vessel, the Mir-2 would be able to cap the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. "Of the four vessels in the world that can go down to 6,000m - the Mirs, French Nautile and Japanese Shinkai. The Mirs are known to be the best," the captain said.

The submersible's pilot also said that the Russians were very surprised that BP and the US government had not asked them for help from the beginning.

"And we would not refuse to help, even though for us it would be very complicated, especially right now, when we're already working on Baikal. But it doesn't look like anyone seriously wants our help," he added.

There are some fishermen in the Gulf who would disagree.