Abandoned Tug Sinks Near Seattle
A derelict tugboat began taking on water and sank Monday morning in Salmon Bay near Ballard in Seattle.The vessel, which had been abandoned for a number of years, was moored at a dock just east of the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks and tied off to two additional abandoned vessels at the time of the incident.The other vessels have been secured and do not present a hazard to maritime traffic, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, who responded to the incident alongside the Seattle Fire…
USCG Aiding Preparation for Subchapter M
U.S. Marine Inspectors from Marine Safety Unit (MSU) Portland conducted a field dry dock examination, Wednesday, to educate and train the towing vessel community on new regulatory standards that will come into force in the summer of 2018. Shaver Transportation Company suggested the field outreach event during a U.S. Coast Guard initiated information session the previous week. The information session held at MSU Portland was the second in a series of national outreach forums designed to educate towing vessel operators on the new regulations…
Oil Spill Response in Seattle's Salmon Bay
The U.S. Coast Guard and Washington State Department of Ecology continue to oversee the cleanup and investigate the cause of an oil spill that appeared earlier this week in the Ballard Mill Marina, on Salmon Bay, along the Lake Washington Ship Canal. The Coast Guard and Ecology received reports Monday morning of oil, accompanied by strong petroleum odors in the waters. No one has come forward to take responsibility for the spill, and the Coast Guard has utilized the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to hire Global Diving and Salvage to conduct the cleanup. The Coast Guard and Ecology have established a unified command to plan and oversee cleanup work.
Sunken Barge Near State Marine Reserve Removed
The Coast Guard says it has completed clean up and removal efforts of a barge that sank earlier near Point Conception State Marine Reserve, California. Around 12:15 p.m. on 8, June 2014 the Coast Guard received a distress call from the tugboat Calvin, reporting that the 260-foot barge Nash was sinking. The barge had a cargo of 3,900 metric tons of magnesium chloride, a non-hazardous derivative of sea water. The barge sank stern first leaving the bow extended above the water. During the sinking, air spaces in the aft cargo tanks were crushed and the hull breached. The barge rested approximately 1/2 mile south of the oil and gas pipelines extending from the Freeport-McMorRan Hermosa Platform to the shore near Point Conception.
