According to federal officials, with the Tropical Depression Bonnie churn stirring up the Gulf of Mexico, most of the response vessels at the BP oil-spill site were being moved out of the danger zone on Friday. As a result, the sealed cap of the ruptured well was probably left unattended for nearly 48 hours.

Informing that the tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico had forced the evacuation of response vessels, thereby stalling the ongoing efforts to seal the oil well, retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, who heads the federal response team, said: “The intention right now is to put the vessels in a safe place so they can return as quickly as possible.”

In a briefing, Allen further added that operators managing the vessels will start moving to a position of the “best survivability,” though aerial and satellite surveillance of the site will continue, with the recording equipment left at the base of the well to facilitate observation.

As per Allen’s statement, the cap that has been put in place over the damaged well will remain sealed and prevent oil from escaping even if the over 2,000 people working at the site are off the water till the storm subsides.

Noting that the storm has also disrupted a few other oil and gas production sites in the gulf, the government revealed that production of 28.3 percent of gulf oil and 10.4 percent natural gas had been halted.