HOUSTON (Reuters) - A Taiwanese-owned "super skimmer" sent to help clean up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has been a bust, the U.S. Coast Guard said after tests on the ship.

"While its stature is impressive, 'A Whale' is not ideally suited to the needs of this response," Coast Guard Rear Admiral Paul Zunkunft, a federal on-scene coordinator, said in a statement late on Friday.

Giant "super skimmer" no help with Gulf oil spill (Reuters) | Yahoo! Green