Oil initially reported after the bow of the New Carissa went down in more than 10,000 feet of water yesterday could not be located by the Oregon Responder, the tugs Sea Victory and Natoma or the fishing vessel Miss Law.

"The commanding officer of the USS David R. Ray, the Navy destroyer that was assigned to the sinking operation, initially reported that he saw an oil slick about 1,000 yards wide," said Bill Milwee, a salvage expert for Gallagher Marine Systems and a member of the Unified Command. "But there were four ships out there yesterday afternoon looking for oil until nightfall, and they didn't find anything."

The tugboat Sea Victory, which towed the bow to a designated spot 282.5 nautical miles off the Oregon coast, the tugboat Natoma, which was supporting the Sea Victory, and the Miss Law, a support vessel for the Oregon Responder, had been waiting a number of miles away from the bow during the sinking operations, for safety reasons. All four vessels responded as soon as oil was reported and circled the area until dark Thursday evening. None of the ships located any oil.

Clean up crews continue to find fewer tarballs on the beaches from Coos Bay, Ore., north to Lincoln City, Ore., and the tarballs are decreasing in size. Beaches from Newport to south of Cape Perpetua will be cleaned today and throughout the weekend. In addition, a team will respond to reports of tarballs in Washburne State Park, north of Heceta Head.

Officials from the International Bird Research and Rescue Center continue to work with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to survey the amount of wildlife affected by the two groundings of the New Carissa. To date, 201 birds have been through the rehabilitation center, 172 of those with oil on them. A total of 640 birds have died, and 285 had oil on them. Wildlife teams will survey beaches today from Heceta Head north to Siletz Bay.

"The good news is that at least 82 percent of the oil onboard the New Carissa never reached the wildlife or the pristine shoreline of Oregon's coast," said Captain Mike Hall, U.S. Coast Guard and a member of the Unified Command.