Grain ship 'burps' up to 200 gallons of oil in Elliott Bay
An estimated 100 to 200 gallons of a petroleum product spilled into Seattle's Elliott Bay early Wednesday when the fuel "burped" out of a grain ship's air vent, the U.S. Coast Guard and state Department of Ecology reported.
The spill occurred when the tugboat Alyssa moved a fuel barge close to the Songa Hua, a grain vessel anchored in the bay near Pier 86.
The grain vessel started taking on bunker fuel from the barge about 1 a.m. and stopped at 3:15 a.m., said Mick Shultz, Port of Seattle spokesman. A tugboat employee boarded the Songa Hua and realized that fuel had spilled on deck and entered the water, he said.
The spill's exact cause remains under investigation, but the fuel came from a vent on the Songa Hua's right side, said Larry Altose, a state Department of Ecology spokesman.
Most of the petroleum product, he said, is trapped between Pier 91 and the Elliott Bay Marina. Several vessels responded to the spill, including three skimmers, four "fast-response" craft that can help with the clean-up efforts, and four skiffs.
"There is oil that is trapped along this bulkhead that surrounds the marina," Altose said, adding that there is a boom at one of the marina's entrances for protection.
Some fuel landed on piling and rocks near Pier 91 and along the Smith Cove shore, Shultz said.
Winds might have blown some fuel that had entered the water past Magnolia and toward West Point, he said.
Shultz believes the equivalent of three barrels of fuel, or 126 gallons, spilled.
As of Wednesday, Altose had not heard of any wildlife being in danger, but that remains a concern.
"The booming that was done after the spill was done quickly and well," he said. "But the seas are rough and some oil did get out."
He added that his department takes all oil spills seriously, and the tide could take any fuel on the bulkhead back into the water.
"But this is a type of oil that we can get off the water," he said.
Clean-up efforts involved the U.S. Coast Guard, which dispatched a 41-foot boat, the state, the Washington State Maritime Cooperative and the Marine Spill Response Corp.
The cooperative is representing the Songa Hua's owner, Altose said. The cooperative has hired the Marine Spill Response Corp.
Although Altose was uncertain which company owned the Songa Hua, he said Seattle-based Olympic Tug & Barge Inc. owns the tugboat and barge.
After the spill, the tug deployed about 2,000 feet of boom to contain and absorb the spill, said U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Jeff Pollinger. The fueling process also was halted.
Clean-up crews and state officials used a helicopter to fly over the area early Wednesday.
The spill occurred when the tugboat Alyssa moved a fuel barge close to the Songa Hua, a grain vessel anchored in the bay near Pier 86.
The grain vessel started taking on bunker fuel from the barge about 1 a.m. and stopped at 3:15 a.m., said Mick Shultz, Port of Seattle spokesman. A tugboat employee boarded the Songa Hua and realized that fuel had spilled on deck and entered the water, he said.
The spill's exact cause remains under investigation, but the fuel came from a vent on the Songa Hua's right side, said Larry Altose, a state Department of Ecology spokesman.
Most of the petroleum product, he said, is trapped between Pier 91 and the Elliott Bay Marina. Several vessels responded to the spill, including three skimmers, four "fast-response" craft that can help with the clean-up efforts, and four skiffs.
"There is oil that is trapped along this bulkhead that surrounds the marina," Altose said, adding that there is a boom at one of the marina's entrances for protection.
Some fuel landed on piling and rocks near Pier 91 and along the Smith Cove shore, Shultz said.
Winds might have blown some fuel that had entered the water past Magnolia and toward West Point, he said.
Shultz believes the equivalent of three barrels of fuel, or 126 gallons, spilled.
As of Wednesday, Altose had not heard of any wildlife being in danger, but that remains a concern.
"The booming that was done after the spill was done quickly and well," he said. "But the seas are rough and some oil did get out."
He added that his department takes all oil spills seriously, and the tide could take any fuel on the bulkhead back into the water.
"But this is a type of oil that we can get off the water," he said.
Clean-up efforts involved the U.S. Coast Guard, which dispatched a 41-foot boat, the state, the Washington State Maritime Cooperative and the Marine Spill Response Corp.
The cooperative is representing the Songa Hua's owner, Altose said. The cooperative has hired the Marine Spill Response Corp.
Although Altose was uncertain which company owned the Songa Hua, he said Seattle-based Olympic Tug & Barge Inc. owns the tugboat and barge.
After the spill, the tug deployed about 2,000 feet of boom to contain and absorb the spill, said U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Jeff Pollinger. The fueling process also was halted.
Clean-up crews and state officials used a helicopter to fly over the area early Wednesday.