USCG continues to respond to oil spill in Kill Van Kull
The U.S. Coast Guard continues its response to a fuel spill near Mariner’s Harbor, Staten Island, N.Y., the USCG news release said.
The National Response Center notified the Coast Guard of the incident, which took place at Mays Ship Repair at 11:22 p.m., Friday. It was reported that the spill came from the barge, Boston No. 30, due to a leak from its cargo tank.
The responsible party, Boston Marine Transport Inc., reported product was being transferred from Barge Boston No. 30 to Barge DBL 25, when personnel on scene noticed product was entering the water between the two barges. Boston Marine Transport Inc. personnel then applied containment boom around the two barges.
Upon investigation, the source of the fuel spill was isolated to the #2 port tank of Boston No. 30, which was carrying 112,000 gallons. Boston Marine Transport Inc. personnel are conducting soundings in the barge tanks to determine the actual amount of fuel spilled into the water.
A Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City helicopter crew performed an over flight assessment of the area at first light thi morning. Coast Guard Sector New York pollution responders continue to investigate the impact of the spill.
Boston Marine Transport Inc. has contracted an oil spill clean-up organization that has placed additional containment boom and absorbent material around the two barges. Further cleanup efforts in affected areas are also underway.
Both the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection are actively involved in the spill response and mitigation effort.
A broadcast notice to mariners is in place advising mariners to transit the area with caution due to pollution.
All waterways remain open.
News update:
Response personnel and other assets on scene include:
51 personnel in the Unified Command
301 contractor personnel deploying boom and recovering spilled oil
47,000 feet of boom has been deployed to protect critical areas, especially Shooter’s Island.
29 skimmers, 12 vacuum trucks, 13 storage barges and other miscellaneous equipment is working on the response
To date 156,000 gallons of oil and water mixture has been recovered
The amount of oil spilled remains under investigation.
The Unified Command has established a Joint Information Center where the public can report oiled wildlife, anyone experiencing damage as a result of the spill vessel and owners can report oiled vessels.