James Cameron Heads to D.C. in Hopes of Terminating Oil Spill

Titanic director meets with oil industry and government experts to brainstorm ways to stop the devastating Gulf oil leak

By Josh Grossberg Jun 01, 2010 11:10 PMTags
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Who better than the King of the World to tackle the mother of all oil disasters.

James Cameron, who has perfected deep-sea camera work while filming The AbyssTitanic and a host of underwater documentaries, is lending his expertise to government bureaucrats seeking ways in halting the worst spill in U.S. history.

Cameron and business partner Phil Nuytten, a diving expert who has helped build  submersibles for the Oscar winner, met this morning with officials from the Environmental Protection Agency, oil industry scientists and engineers for brainstorming sessions today in Washington, D.C.

The goal?

How to cap BP's amok oil well off the coast of Louisiana, which has been dumping millions of barrels of oil into the waters since an April 20 explosion destroyed the Deepwater Horizon rig.

Virgina Cowell, a spokeswoman for Vancouver-based Nuytco Research, of which Nuyton is the head, confirmed the meeting took place but did not have further information.

Nuyton and the Avatar helmer however know many of the scientists and engineers who participated in the talks and the parties discussed innovative ideas as to how deepwater technology, including remote vehicles, could possibly do what BP's "top kill" procedure couldn't—stop the torrent of oil from spoiling the Gulf Coast and adjoining wetlands.

"I know Phil is a total out of the box thinker so we'll see what comes of it," Cowell said.

A rep for Cameron was unavailable for comment.

But the EPA issued a statement in conjunction with several participating federal agencies detailing what they hope to accomplish.

"Today's meeting is part of the federal government's ongoing efforts to hear from stakeholders, scientists and experts from academia, government and the private sector as we continue to respond to the BP oil spill," read the statement. "Sixteen Agencies continue to work around-the-clock to do everything possible to ensure that the citizens of the Gulf region are protected, that every resource available is dedicated toward stopping this leak and that the region is cleaned up and restored."

Just last month Cameron's name surfaced along with Kevin Costner and Robert Redford among celebrities trying to lend a hand to stem the flood of oil.

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