Alaska fuel spill: "Minimal amount" leaked
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) has said that the amount of fuel leaked from a fuel barge in Alaska on Thursday is now estimated to be "a minimal amount."
"Due to the location of the fracture on the tank, the entire volume of the tank was never at risk of being spilled," the statement said.
The leak leak was discovered on the Kirby Offshore Marine (Kirby) fuel barge Leo at 10:30am Thursday morning in waters near Port Frederick, approximately 1 nautical mile from Hoonah, Alaska, with initial reports saying the volume of fuel spilled was unknown.
The source of the leak was traced back to a 2‐inch fracture between the raised cargo tank bulkhead and deck of the barge, with a temporary seal placed on the fracture, combined with an internal transfer of fuel to another tank on the barge, said to have been completed on the night of September 12 and had stopped the fuel leak.
Rainbow sheen was reported in Port Frederick but ADEC said it has not received any additional reports of sheen in the Hoonah area, adding that there have been no reports of impacts to wildlife or the shoreline.
Kirby Offshore Marine is a subsidiary of Kirby Corp. [NYSE:KEX] who recently announced an agreement to acquire fellow U.S. barge operator Allied Transportation Co. and two affiliated companies from Allied Marine Industries Inc. for $116 million.