While it doesn't appear that the Florida barrier reef is in any imminent danger, CNN is reporting (bizarrely in it's "Science and Space" news section, rather than just the headline news) that a double-hulled tanker carrying 90,000 gallons of marine diesel fuel and 20,000 gallons of lube oil, is drifting about two miles from the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and that it dropped anchor to slow its drift toward the park's shallow waters when its engine failed early Thursday off Marathon in the Middle Keys.

"It is slowly drifting east-northeast, parallel to the Florida Keys National Marine sanctuary boundary, presenting no immediate threat to the sanctuary," said Coast Guard spokeswoman Danielle DeMarino.

The sanctuary surrounds the Florida Keys chain of islands and is home to the United States' only living barrier coral reef. It is the third longest barrier reef in the world, after Australia's and Belize's.

The ship was en route to Houston from Quebec. Once we see a spill of the magnitude of the horrible Prestige accident in the Florida Keys, we'll see things change, but I'm afraid not until then.

BTW, Capercaillie has a song about the oil spill off Shetland, called "Black Fields" though I can't remember which album it is on.