NATION IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON STATE : Crews to Trap Oil From Sunken Ship

Crews set up equipment to trap fuel leaking from a Japanese ship that sank in about 500 feet of water 25 miles off the northwest tip of Washington state. The oozing oil formed an 80-mile slick fouling pristine Pacific Northwest beaches, killing sea birds and depositing tar balls on the shore, officials said. Boats towing 600-foot-long booms will collect the slick in a smaller area so skimmers can lap it up, a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said. Meanwhile, Canadian officials were considering sending a mini-submarine to inspect the hull of the ship, the Tenyo Maru, a fish processor that went down July 22 after being struck by a Chinese vessel. The Japanese ship carried 240,000 gallons of fuel.