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www.marinelink.com MN39business and government claims, along with litigation judgments, set-tlements of litigation, naturalresource damages and state and local response costs.? The fund was estab- lished in June of last year. BP had paid over $7 billion in spill-related claims to individuals, businesses andgovernments by late August, he said. Of that total, the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, administered by attorney Ken Feinberg, had paid out $5 billion as of August 23 on over 203,000 business and individual claims,including part of a $54 million fund for Gulf real-estate brokers and agents.At Louisiana State University, Ed Overton, emeritus professor of coastal sciences, said ?BP oil in near-shore tar mats will keep washing up as tarballs for some time to come--forone or two years.? But those occur- rences are infrequent and not much of a threat, he said. ?No oil from the deep Gulf will impact any near-shore areas,? he predicted. Nonetheless, cleaning of oil on Louisiana's coastcould continue for another one tothree years, he said. Captain Mike Lorino, president of the Associated Branch Pilots in New Orleans, said remnants from last year's spill--tar mats, tar balls and sheen--have not affected vessel traffic off of Southeast Louisiana this summer, and added ?that's a great thing.? He added, ?The only thing I hear is there's still a little oil in the marsh.?At the U.S. Coast Guard, public information officer William Benson in New Orleans said ?This summer, there have been no reports of vessels that were oiled or needed to be decontaminated as a result of the MC-252 or Macondo spill.? While marine scientists report con- siderable amounts of oil and byprod- ucts on the Gulf floor near the Macondo well, a few studies from universities and other researchers point to a fairly successful cleanupeffort to date. The NRDA process will help determine the prognosis for the Gulf coastline, industries and related marine activities, and decide what needs to be done to return the region to pre-spill conditions. Looking back, today?s much- improved situation seemed an unlike- ly one a year ago. That?s nominally good news for the maritime industry and the oil patch, but further cleanup and environmental assessments remain to be done. New Orleans(504) 780-8100 ? Fax (504) 780-8200Norfolk(757) 545-0100 ? Fax (757) 545-8004Houston(281) 452-5887 ? Fax (281) 452-9682www.mcdonoughmarine.comwww.mcdonoughmarine.comLARGEST RENTAL FLEET OF SPUD,DECK AND MATERIAL BARGESLARGEST RENTAL FLEET OF SPUD,DECK AND MATERIAL BARGESBARGES 60 TO 400 LENGTHBARGES 60 TO 400 LENGTH? 16 Fleeting locations inland rivers, Gulf, East and West Coast ? Inland and Ocean towing services MN#9 (32-49):MN 2011 Layouts 9/6/2011 3:51 PM Page 39