Update on Freight Ship Oil Spill in GOM
Divers patched a hole in the motor vessel Pac Alkaid Nov. 1, preventing further spillage of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and enabling the freight ship to successfully transit up the Mississippi River to a shipyard in New Orleans. The initial discharge of an estimated 12,000 gallons of bunker oil was caused by a hole in the Pac Alkaid's hull which was approximately five centimeters in diameter and five feet below the waterline. At 2 a.m. Oct. 30 while the Pac Alkaid was anchored five miles southeast of Southwest Pass, the vessel's captain notified the Coast Guard that the ship was leaking oil into the Gulf of Mexico. O'Brien's Response Management hired divers who patched the hole on Sunday afternoon.
Agencies Respond to Freight Ship Spilling Oil
The Coast Guard and O'Brien's Response Management are responding to oil which is leaking from the motor vessel Pac Alkaid, which is anchored 10 miles southeast of Southwest Pass near Venice, La. The Pac Alkaid reported the discharge to the Coast Guard at approximately 2 a.m. Oct. 30, when it was anchored five miles southeast of Southwest Pass. Winds and currents pushed the oil to the northwest on Oct. 30, which caused a sheen to wash up against the rocks of the Southwest Pass jetty. The Coast Guard ordered the vessel to move further offshore at approximately 11 a.m. Oct. 30 in order to lessen the impact of the oil on the shoreline. The initial discharge of an estimated 12,000 gallons of bunker oil was caused by a hole in the Pac Alkaid's hull.
