Effort to contain Gulf oil stalls with stuck saw

By GREG BLUESTEIN and BRIAN SKOLOFF, Associated Press Writers PORT FOURCHON, La. – The risky effort to contain the Gulf oil gusher hit a snag Wednesday when a saw became stuck in a thick pipe on a blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said the goal was to free the saw and finish the cut later in the day. This is the latest attempt to contain — not plug — the nation’s worst oil spill. The best chance at stopping the leak is still at least two months away. With the new effort, however, BP PLC hoped to siphon to the surface the majority of the oil spewing into the Gulf. “I don’t think the issue is whether or not we can make the second cut. It’s about how fine we can make it, how smooth we can make it,” Allen said. Engineers may have to bring in a second saw if the delay continues. Allen said once the cut is made, crews will inspect it and place a cap over the spill, which could happen as early as Wednesday. The effort underwater was going on as oil drifted close to the Florida Panhandle’s white sand beaches for the first time and investors ran from BP’s stock for a second day, reacting to the company’s failure to plug the leak by shooting mud and cement into the well, known as the top kill. …