A 41-foot smallboat from Coast Guard Station New Orleans patrols a safety zone around the partially sunken barge Wed. July 23, 2008 as industry officials prepare a salvage plan for the barge. Early Wed. morning the motor vessel Tintomara and the tugboat Mel Oliver collided in the Mississippi River in New Orleans spilling approximately 419,286 gals. of number six fuel oil. (U.S. Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer 2nd Class Thomas M. Blue)

The Coast Guard along with Environmental, Safety and Health Company clean up an oil sheen that made land fall on the beach in Grand Isle, La., Saturday, June 28, 2008. (U.S. Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer 3rd Class Joseph Grindle)

GALVESTON, Texas - Coast Guard Air Station Houston crewmembers light off Mk 124 Day/Night flares during wet drill training at Galveston's East Beach here, Oct. 12, 2007. Air Station Houston holds wet drills annually to train crewmembers in the use of pyro-techniques and basic survival skills. The training is part of an annual requirement for all air crewmembers and is designed to increase their survivability in the water and on land. U.S. Coast Guard photograph by Petty Officer 3rd Class David Schuhlein.

PADUCAH, Ky. - Coast Guard crewmembers from the Marine Safety in Paducah coordinated efforts with the Mississippi County Emergency Management Agency in Missouri in responding to a tow boat fire in the Lower Mississippi River Wednesday, October 3, 2007. U.S. Coast Guard photograph

GALVESON, Texas - Coast Guard Enforcement Officer's from Marine Safety Unit Galveston help provide a security presence for the Bolivar Ferry here Friday, Sept. 28, 2007. The boarding officer's are helping ensure safety and security requirements are enforced for vehicles traveling onboard one of Texas' busiest ferries. U.S. Coast Guard photograph by Petty Officer 3rd Class David Schuhlein

GALVESTON, Texas - Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Tarik Henderson, Petty Officer 2nd Class Janab Davis, and Petty Officer 3rd Class Jacob Jenkins keep a watchful eye as vehicles load on to the Bolivar Ferry here Friday, Sept. 28, 2007. The boarding officer's are helping to maintain a security presence onboard the ferry as it travels between Galveston and Bolivar Point, Texas. U.S. Coast Guard photograph by Petty Officer 3rd Class David Schuhlein.

GALVESTON, Texas - Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Daniel W. Shuster, engineering petty officer of the cutter Hatchet, checks his climbing gear during a training climb at Sector Field Officer Galveston, July 31, 2007.

GALVESTON, Texas - Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Daniel W. Shuster, engineering petty officer of the 75-foot buoy tender Hatchet, assists a crewmen putting on his climbing harness during tower climbing training, July 31, 2007.

GALVESTON, Texas - Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Shane Beck, lead instructor for the tower climbing training, lowers down a crewmen from the tower acting as simulated victim, July 31, 2007.

HOUSTON - Adm. Thad Allen, Commandant of the Coast Guard, listens to Lt. Cliff Harder during a safety inspection of a chemical carrier docked in the Houston Ship Channel here Monday, June 4, 2007. Allen visited Houston to speak with Coast Guard members and shipping industry personnel about the service's role in maritime safety.