BANGOR, Maine (AP) — Two oil spill teams from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection are going to be helping clean up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The crews will spend 12-hour days traveling the Gulf of Mexico in specialized watercraft used to skim oil from the surface.

Maine’s two oil collecting boats that will be used are part of a fleet of five in the state’s inventory.

The custom made boats use two pontoons that form an 8-foot-wide “V” at the bow to collect the oil.

The Bangor Daily News says six Maine workers will travel to Florida at first, but others will rotate through in two-week intervals.

The department’s Thomas Smith says just about everyone in the oil spill unit volunteered for the assignment.

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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com

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