Video: BP looks to robot subs to stem oil leak

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2. Transcript of: BP looks to robot subs to stem oil leak

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   LESTER HOLT, anchor: We've got confirmation this morning that oil from the BP leak has reached every Gulf Coast state . Officials said tar balls scooped up near Galveston , Texas , this weekend were from the blown well. What they don't know is if it drifted on its own or maybe it got stuck to a ship and came in that way. Meantime, most of the offshore skimming operations are still on hold because of choppy seas. At a mile underwater, the well is simply too deep for a diver to reach, so the underwater work of containing the gusher has been largely left to remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs . By now we're familiar with the pictures one of these ROVs has been providing, but it's more than just a camera. NBC 's Kerry Sanders joins us with more on how the repair teams are extending their reach. Kerry , good morning.

   KERRY SANDERS reporting: Well, good morning, Lester . I'm at a company called Oceaneering . They not only make but they staff these ROVs . This is that camera that we've been seeing providing that picture to the whole world. And then you can see these are the arms that twist and turn, pull and pry. I've been in touch with the crews that are actually out at the site, and they provided a snippet of video of their high-pressure world. Cell phone video of a pilot and co-pilot at the controls of one of the ROVs now deployed at Deepwater Horizon . Their cockpit is on board this ship, the Ocean Intervention III , with joysticks and manipulators like these controlling every twist, every saw push and pull, and every grab the ROV makes one mile down.

   Unidentified Man #1: Yeah, roger that, you're clear to bring him up.

   SANDERS: And more than 400 miles away in mission control , consulting engineers.

   Unidentified Man #2: Might still be a good idea to hold back for now.

   SANDERS: We were given unique access to BP 's mission control in Houston . They've nicknamed this "the hive" because often it's the center of all activity.

   Mr. DANIEL GUTIERREZ (BP Subsea Maintenance Engineer): They're the eyes, the ears, the -- they're everything.

   SANDERS: It's an underwater ballet choreographed on the fly of four, six, eight, at times 12 ROVs in and around the broken wellhead; the highest concentration of these so-called fish ever assembled in one spot.

   Mr. KENT WELLS (BP Senior Vice President): Or it wouldn't be near as efficient as if it were well planned out.

   SANDERS: ROV pilot Jason Charlet , on rotation after three continuous weeks on the site.

   Mr. JASON CHARLET: ...12 hour shifts. You're staring at a computer screen all day long, more or less. Just kind of get your eyes worn out sometimes.

   SANDERS: This is the controller. This is much like the stick that you find in a fighter jet. Interestingly, the folks here at Oceaneering say the 20-somethings they hire that are particularly good at this job, folks who've been playing video games their whole lives. So, Lester , there is something, some skill that's being learned, that your kids can someday actually use. They're not wasting their time just playing those games.

   HOLT: Yeah, I think a lot of kids heard what you said and are going to remind mom and dad of that. Watch where you're driving, by the way, Kerry . Thanks.

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