NATION : Stormy Seas Beat Back Soviet Oil-Skimming Ship Off Alaska

VALDEZ, Alaska —  A Soviet oil-skimming ship sent with great fanfare to help contain the Alaskan oil spill has been beaten back by stormy seas and slowed by its own technical shortcomings, the U.S. Coast Guard said today.

“To date, it’s (the Soviet ship) not been very successful,” Coast Guard Capt. Glen Haines told a public meeting on Exxon Corp.’s progress in handling the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

He said the 435-foot Vaydagubski, the world’s largest oil-skimming vessel, has been forced to enter the coastal port at Surprise Bay because of gale-force winds and rough seas that brought to a near halt oil spill operations in open waters over the weekend.

Winds up to 63 knots and raging seas up to 25 feet defeated all but a handful of the fleet trying to mop up the oil still floating from the Exxon Valdez tanker accident a month ago.

Coast Guard officials expressed disappointment in the performance of the Soviet ship for which Exxon is paying $15,000 a day. In four days in Alaskan waters, it has managed to collect only a small amount of oil.