100 Days of Oil: International Assistance

Oil that leaked from a broken oil well following an explosion on a drilling rig swirls through the currents in the Gulf of Mexico. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

In the 100 days since an April 20 explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drill rig unleashed a seemingly unstoppable torrent of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the eyes of the world have been focused on the disaster. Hundreds of millions of gallons of crude have been released, and billions of dollars have been allocated toward the clean up fund.

But which countries have contributed the most to Gulf relief efforts, and who has ignored us entirely? The numbers so far:

INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE

The United States accepted 31 offers of assistance from 27 countries and 4 international bodies:

Countries:
Belgium, Canada, China, Croatia, Denmark, El Salvador, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam.

International bodies: 
The European Maritime Safety Agency, the European Commission's Monitoring and Information Centre, the International Maritime Organization, and the Environment Unit of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the United Nations Environment Program.

The United States rarely faces a disaster of such magnitude that it requires international aid, although the government did accept assistance after Hurricane Katrina.

WHAT HAS BEEN OFFERED

Most of the countries and groups have offered skimmers, boom or dispersant chemicals, according to a chart on the State Department's website.

*  As early as May 11, boom arrived from Mexico, Norway and Brazil.

two groups -- the International Maritime Organization and the Monitoring and Information Center, which is operated by the European Commission -- are offering technical assistance.

Mexico, Norway, Holland and Japan are providing skimmers.

Canada is providing containment boom.

Croatia is pitching in with technical advice.

OFFERS DECLINED

Only one offer has been rejected, according to a chart on the State Department's website. Dispersant chemicals offered by France are not approved for use in the U.S.

EXPECTED IN RETURN

Almost all the countries and groups expect to be paid for their help

The technical coordination from the two international groups and some containment boom offered by Mexico are free, however.