World Economic

Florida’s attorney general has sent a letter to the head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, urging her department to “engage every available asset” to combat the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Bill McCollum said in his letter to Janet Napolitano that the 28 skimmers operating off the coast of Florida are “clearly inadequate,” now that oil has started coming ashore.

McCollum said he learned that there are hundreds of additional skimming vessels that could be made available, and that at least one Florida firm – Jacksonville-based Crowley Maritime – has four inactive skimming platforms that could be deployed within days of request, but “no one with the Coast Guard or BP seems interested in engaging their vessels,” he claims in his letter.

Millions of gallons of oil have poured into the Gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon oilrig exploded on April 20.

On Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted possible shoreline impacts along the western panhandle through Sunday, mainly west of Destin.

While Pensacola Beach is open, some areas are closed to swimming and wading.

BP PLC said Friday that it has two systems collecting oil and gas that are transporting them to vessels on the surface. About 37,000 personnel, more than 4,500 vessels and some 100 aircraft are now engaged in the response effort, according to the oil giant.

The company said it has recovered about 25.6 million gallons of oily liquid.

So far, there have been 74,000 claims filed and 39,000 payments totaling nearly $126 million. BP claims in Florida total 20,431, with about $17.9 million paid.

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