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Oil container washes ashore in Florida By the CNN Wire Staff June 12, 2010 10:51 p.m. EDT (CNN) — A portion of beach in Panama City, Florida, was closed Saturday after a large oil container with BP markings washed ashore, local authorities said. It was not immediately clear if the container, which was leaking a small amount of oil, came from the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded April 20 and sank two days later, triggering a massive underwater gusher that has led to the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. BP officials could not be immediately reached for comment. Panama City has not yet seen tar balls or any other evidence of the spill reach its shoreline, according to Bay County spokeswoman Valerie Lovett. The large, stainless steel tank about the size of a refrigerator washed up on the west end of Panama City Beach and was discovered shortly after 9 a.m. Saturday, Bay County sheriff's Deputy Ray Maulbeck told CNN. The container has a capacity of 550 gallons of oil, but Maulbeck said officials didn't know how much oil was in the tank. The beach is set to reopen Sunday, he said. The container will be transported to Louisiana for investigation, Lovett said. added by: EthicalVegan