Incident Management Division News

The U.S. Coast Guard said one of its buoy tenders accidentally discharged approximately 500 gallons of diesel fuel 30 miles offshore of Fort Bragg, Calif., Friday morning.The vessel, USCGC Alder (WLB-216), was enroute to Humboldt Bay when the incident occurred, the Coast Guard said.Members of Coast Guard Sector San Francisco Incident Management Division notified interagency stakeholders and are investigating the oil spill and cause. They are also evaluating potential impacts to sensitive sites.

Responders are working to minimize environmental damages from a cutter suction dredge that capsized in the Mississippi River near Meraux, La. on Monday.The U.S. Coast Guard said its watchstanders at Sector New Orleans were notified at 12:50 a.m. that the dredging vessel W.B. Wood capsized in the vicinity of mile marker (MM) 85. The two people on board were rescued by the crew of a nearby towing vessel, Omaha.Coast Guard aerial observers confirmed sheening from the incident location down to MM 64, which is expected to dissipate naturally.

A commercial fishing vessel that sank Saturday near San Juan Island, Wash. is spilling oil, the U.S. Coast Guard said.All five crewmembers from the sinking Aleutian Isle were rescued by a Good Samaritan, and no injuries have been reported.The 49-foot vessel sank with approximately 2,500 gallons of diesel fuel and a combined 100 gallons of hydraulic fluid and lubricant oil aboard, according to the Coast Guard. A sheen has been observed spanning more than two miles and was reported to have entered Canadian waters as the vessel continues to release small amounts of diesel.At approximately 2 p.m.

A tug and barge ran aground Thursday night near Deerfield Beach, Fla., while transporting munitions from Port Canaveral to a U.S. Naval facility in the Bahamas.The U.S.-flagged tug Sea Eagle had four people on board when it began taking on water and went aground at 8:45 p.m. on Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) said. No injuries or pollution have been reported, and both the tug and barge are said to be in stable condition.Three of the crew members were rescued from the attached barge by Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations (CBP AMO) rescue crews.

A U.S.-flagged tug and deck barge reportedly struck a pier and grounded while conducting docking maneuvers at the Ensenada Honda auxiliary cargo dock in Culebra Island, Puerto Rico, on Tuesday.The tugboat Don Jaime and barge Marilin H have been refloated, and there are no reports of injuries, oil discharge or sheening in the surrounding waters, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, whose inspectors are on scene to investigate the marine casualty incident.“We are looking to identify…

Three people were rescued from a 71-year-old tugboat that sank south of Puerto Rico on Thursday.The U.S. Coast Guard said its watchstanders at Sector San Juan fielded a mayday call from the crew of the 112-foot U.S.-flagged tug Proassist III, stating they were taking on water approximately two miles south of Yabucoa Harbor.A good Samaritan embarked the three people from the 1949-built tug and took them ashore with no reported injuries.On Friday, a Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen…

An abandoned, partially sunken tugboat is actively discharging oil within Krause Lagoon in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, the U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday.The amount of oil discharged from the tug Cape Lookout remains unknown, while the maximum potential discharge based on the size of the vessel fuel and lube oil tanks is approximately 48,000 gallons of fuel and 2,000 gallons of lube oil, the Coast Guard said, adding it is unknown how full both tanks are at this time.“Due to the immediate pollution threat this vessel represents to the environment and surrounding area…

Coast Guard pollution responders are responding to a report of a tug that sank at the Port Orchard Railway Marina in Port Townsend, Washington, Monday.Members from Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound's Incident Management Division are on scene overseeing the removal and containment of fuel discharged from the 65-foot tug Meagan M. The vessel is currently registered as a towing vessel; however the master claims it has been used in a strictly recreational capacity for the past two years.

A fuel barge has become stuck in mud on the Naknek River in Naknek, Alaska, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday. The Coast Guard said it is responding to the Crowley BC-152 barge, which settled in the mud and began to show signs of structural stress while offloading petroleum product."This barge did not run aground, but became stuck in the mud during low tide yesterday as it was offloading product," said Lt. James Nunez, incident management division chief for Coast Guard Sector…

The Coast Guard responded to a boat fire at Cape Charles Marina in Cape Charles, Tuesday morning.Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads received a report at 6 a.m. from Coast Guard Station Cape Charles crewmembers who stated they were observing a 73-foot vessel on fire at Cape Charles Marina.Sector Hampton Roads notified local response agencies and directed personnel from Coast Guard Station Cape Charles to respond on foot.Local fire departments are currently fighting the fire onboard the vessel. A Unified Command (UC) has been established that is comprised of the U.S.

A salvage dive team located a two-inch diameter hole on the port side of the engine room and applied a temporary patch. The vessel is no longer taking on water. Any pollution from the incident has been recovered or dissipated. Containment booms will remain in place, and a watchstander will stay on the vessel to monitor the situation. A long term plan for the ship is in development.“The safety of residents and responders is our priority, and while no one wants something like this to happen, thankfully it occurred at the pier where they swiftly addressed the issue,” said Lt. Erica Brewton, Sector Honolulu Incident Management Division.

A Coast Guard aircrew plucked 2 men from the south Galveston Jetty Saturday morning, after their sailboat lost steering and ran into the rocks. At 9:06 a.m., the crew of the 27-foot sailboat called Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston watchstanders for help. While they were on the phone, the sailboat’s anchor line parted and they were headed for the rocks with 15 to 20-knot winds. The watchstanders sent a Station Galveston boat crew to assist them, but they were up against the rocks before the station arrived. They were able to get on the jetty. The watchstanders launched an Air Station Houston MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew to rescue the men, as the rescue boat was unable to safely recover them and they were concerned about them being able to make it back with waves crashing on the jetty.

The Coast Guard and a good Samaritan commercial fishing crew rescued five people from the water after the fishing vessel Star King, a 55-foot stern trawler homeported in Astoria, capsized and sank near the entrance to the Columbia River early Saturday morning. All five fishermen were pulled from the water by the crew of the fishing vessel Sea Ballad and were transferred to the Coast Guard 47-foot Motor Life Boat crew, from Station Cape Disappointment, who transported them to the station in Ilwaco, Wash., where they did not need medical attention. Watchstanders at the Sector Columbia River command center received the first mayday calls from the Star King via VHF-FM radio channel 16 at 4:31 a.m. All five fishermen were accounted for by 5:10 a.m.

The U.S. Coast Guard said it has concluded its portion of the response in overseeing the salvage operations of the fishing vessel Privateer off the beach at Ocean Shores in Washington, Wednesday. The Coast Guard’s response concluded when personnel from the Incident Management Division at Sector Columbia River found no recoverable fuel aboard the Privateer during their inspection of the beached vessel. The Privateer washed ashore, Saturday, April 16, after the Coast Guard rescued the three-man crew the night before 1 mile outside of Grays Harbor after the 74-foot fishing vessel started sinking.

The Coast Guard oversaw the refloating of a barge and tugboat Sunday near Absecon Inlet. The 77-foot Miss Katie experienced a loss of power Saturday and ran aground north of the Absecon Inlet, and the 135-foot barge drifted and ran aground on the south side of the north jetty. Personnel from Coast Guard Station Atlantic City arrived on scene Saturday, but due to weather conditions, salvage operations for the tug and barge were suspended. "Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay's Incident Management Division oversaw salvage and pollution prevention operations of the tug and barge today on Brigantine Beach, New Jersey," said Lt. j.g. Terry Plank, the federal on-scene coordinator representative. "Both the tug and barge were successfully removed from the beach and jetty respectively.

Pollution cleanup efforts are underway after sheening was reported around the bulk carrier Nord Auckland anchored near Kalama, Thursday. The 610-foot Singapore-flagged vessel reportedly released bunker oil due to operator error that was intended to be burned in the incinerator, the U.S. Coast Guard said. Overseeing the response efforts are personnel from the Washington Department of Ecology and the Coast Guard, who said the responsible party has contracted Clean Rivers Cooperative to handle cleanup operations. Two booming vessels are on scene with crews engaged in cleanup operations.

Members of the U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Francisco Incident Management Division were notified by the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) on-scene coordinator that their contractor, Global Diving and Salvage, Inc. (GDSI), had discovered tar balls and heavy oil while removing sediment from the tug Respect in the Oakland Estuary Oct. 14, 2013. Further research on the Respect showed an estimated 300-500 gallons of oil had been left aboard during removal operations conducted in 1998. The Respect was then vandalized in 2007 and sank with an unknown oil potential.

Coast Guard members are working with Miller Environmental Services and Texas General Land Office specialists to clean up naturally occurring tar balls discovered on 20-mile stretch of land from Padre Island National Seashore to the beaches of Port Aransas, Tuesday. Beachgoers contacted Coast Guard Station Port Aransas Sunday to report that tar patties were washing ashore. Sector Corpus Christi deployed personnel from their Incident Management Division to respond. Currently, a team comprised of individuals from the three agencies is surveying the shoreline and removing the tar balls.

The Coast Guard and Washington State Department of Ecology are responding to a report a of 65-foot pleasure craft aground near Pleasant Harbor in Brinnon, Washington, Sunday morning. There is reportedly up to 500 gallons of diesel fuel aboard the vessel and an unrecoverable sheen was reported to be visible on the water. Responders are working with the owner to deploy containment boom around the vessel and develop plans to remove the fuel aboard. Jefferson County dispatch notified watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound that the 65-foot pleasure craft Avalon was aground in Pleasant Harbor at 2:30 a.m. The vessel was under tow by a 14-foot skiff at the time of incident. All four people involved departed the 65-foot vessel and made it ashore at Pleasant Harbor State Park in the skiff.

The Coast Guard and California Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel are investigating a fuel spill that occurred near Pier 45 at Fishman’s Wharf in the San Francisco Bay, from the functioning Liberty Ship 'SS Jeremiah O'Brien'. At approximately 10:56 a.m., Saturday, Coast Guard Sector San Francisco personnel received a report that an undetermined amount of fuel oil was discharged into the water from the SS Jeremiah O’Brien, a fully functional World War II Liberty Ship. Coast Guard Incident Management Division personnel immediately dispatched a pollution response Federal On-scene Coordinator’s Representative (FOSCR) to confirm the report and assess on-scene conditions.

The U.S. Coast Guard and California Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel continue to respond to a fuel spill that occurred near Pier 45 at Fishman's Wharf in the San Francisco Bay Saturday. At 10:56 a.m., Saturday, Coast Guard Sector San Francisco personnel received a report that an undetermined amount of fuel oil was discharged into the water from the SS Jeremiah O'Brien. Coast Guard Incident Management Division personnel immediately dispatched a pollution response Federal On-scene Coordinator's Representative to confirm the report and assess on-scene conditions. Once on scene, the FOSCR confirmed the source of the fuel spill had been secured…

The Coast Guard is responding to the sinking of a fishing vessel in Kelp Bay near Sitka Friday. Coast Guard personnel from Sector Juneau, the Coast Guard Cutter Maple and Air Station Sitka examined the scene of the sunken 49-foot fishing vessel Sierra Allene and are working with the vessel's owner to mitigate the situation. Watchstanders from the Sector Juneau command center received a radio call from the crew of the fishing vessel Irish when they discovered a portion of the Sierra Allene jutting out of the water. The vessel's owner reported the Sierra Allene has approximately 600 gallons of diesel fuel on board. “The Coast Guard is working with stakeholders and the owner to resolve the situation and protect nearby sensitive areas,” said Ens.

Coast Guard, National Response Center and Washington State Department of Ecology personnel responded to oil pollution from a sunken 67-foot commercial vessel at Westhaven Marina near Grays Harbor, Wash., Sunday. Responders from the Coast Guard Incident Management Division in Astoria will arrive on scene Monday morning and will be working with partner agencies to monitor the situation and oversee the cleanup. After receiving a report of a possible sinking vessel at Westhaven Marina at approximately 12:40 p.m., Coast Guard Sector Columbia River watchstanders launched a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew from Coast Guard Station Grays Harbor to assess the situation. The commercial fishing vessel Persistence was found submerged at the pier, and a rainbow sheen was observed on the water.