Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. BP Oil Spill Effects Stretch from Texas to Florida VOA News 06 July 2010 Oil from the damaged Deepwater Horizon oil well lingered off the Mississippi Delta, 04 Jul 2010 Photo: NASA Oil from the damaged Deepwater Horizon oil well lingered off the Mississippi Delta, 04 Jul 2010 U.S. Coast Guard officials say tar balls from the BP oil spill have reached Texas beaches, making it the fifth U.S. state along the Gulf of Mexico to be affected by the worst oil spill in the nation's history. Texas now joins the other Gulf states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida impacted by the oil that continues to gush from BP's broken underwater well. Oil cleanup efforts have been hampered this week by rough seas and high winds. However, officials hope that a giant Taiwanese ship, described as the world's largest oil skimming vessel, soon will be in operation to bolster those efforts. The vessel is said to be able to suck up to 500,000 barrels of oily water daily, far greater than the skimmers currently operating in the Gulf. Some environmentalists and officials are criticizing BP for its containment efforts, accusing the company of collecting far less oil than it promised. According to a Washington Post story Tuesday, BP claimed in March to be able to skim and remove more than 490,000 barrels of oil a day. But the Post article, citing unspecified documents, says the company has been averaging less than 900 barrels daily. BP officials declined immediate comment on the report. Most of the oil that has been captured has been directly from the site of the well, about 632,000 barrels in all. The U.S. government estimates that 60,000 barrels of oil spew from the well each day. Numerous attempts to stop the flow have failed. BP is now in the process of drilling a relief well that should be completed by next month and, it is hoped, stop the oil gusher. BP says the cost of the response has surpassed $3 billion, not including a separate $20 billion fund the company created for damages related to the spill. Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP. .