Olympic Tug & Barge Fined for Port Angeles Oil Spill
The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) is fining Olympic Tug & Barge of Seattle $16,500 for spilling oil into Port Angeles Harbor last November. The spill occurred when a company-owned fuel barge was overfilled while being loaded with fuel oil. Ecology determined the Nov. 7, 2012, heavy fuel oil spill occurred because of an error by the barge operator. More than 1,700 gallons of fuel spilled to the deck of the barge with nearly 50 gallons entering Port Angeles Harbor. The oil transfer was being conducted at the Tesoro Port Angeles Terminal located at the foot of the spit Ediz Hook. Olympic Tug & Barge had oil containment boom placed around the barge prior to starting the fuel transfer which helped contain the spill.
Davy Crockett Project Complete
Workers last week removed the final piece of the metal sheet pile cofferdam from the barge Davy Crockett work site on the Columbia River near Camas, Wash. This effectively signals the end of a 10-month effort to prevent a catastrophic release of oil and other hazardous materials from the former Liberty ship. Constructed in April 2011, the 850-linear foot cofferdam and impermeable liner allowed crews to systematically dismantle the derelict barge in the river and keep any pollution generated by the project to be contained and properly handled within.
Sound Freight Penalized for Discharge
The owner of a tug that released oily bilge water into the Columbia River last year is being penalized $21,000 by the Washington Department of Ecology. Sound Freight Lines’ tug Black Hawk discharged an estimated 150 gallons of lubricating and diesel oils while transiting near Willow Grove on the Columbia River during the morning hours of Jan. 29, 2009. The sheen went unreported until mid-day when observers on the river called the U.S. Coast Guard and Ecology. By then, it was too late for responders to do more than collect samples for further investigation. Ecology spills investigators collected samples from all the commercial vessels that had been in the area at the time of the spill and were able to match the oily discharge to the Black Hawk’s bilge contents.
Trident Seafoods – 2nd Bowfin Fuel Spill
The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) has fined Seattle-based Trident Seafoods $30,500 for an oil spill in December 2007 that sent almost 500 gallons of fuel into the Hylebos Waterway in Commencement Bay. The spill happened while the company’s tender vessel Bowfin was tied up at Trident Seafoods’ dock in Tacoma. A Trident Seafoods engineer began transferring diesel fuel between two tanks onboard the Bowfin. It appears a small fuel line became plugged, causing diesel to run out of a tank vent, across the deck and overboard. The company found the spill the evening of Dec. 10 after a diesel smell was traced back to the Bowfin.
