Ronin, it doesn’t work like that. Even if we contained all of the surface oil, the beaches would still get soiled. Much of the oil is emulsifying before it hits the surface. Once that happens, the oil won’t separate from the water, and it will no longer be buoyant.
I don’t think that the article is self-serving at all. This is a red herring issue. For the life of me, I can’t see how anyone, even a non-mariner, could miss that.
In the modern political climate, red herrings is all we’re fed.