The US Coast Guard, Washington State Department of Ecology and
Global Diving & Salvage removed petroleum products from the tug Vigorous
at Ballard Oil Co. in the Lake Washington Ship Canal on Oct. 13 after the derelict
vessel was thought to be in danger of sinking.
The Vigorous, whose owner could not be contacted
by the Coast Guard, had an estimated 20,000 gallons of oily bilge waste and an unknown
amount of product in the fuel tanks, according to the USCG.
The Coast Guard Incident Management Division from Coast Guard
Sector Puget Sound received notification Oct. 8 of a possible sinking and presumably
derelict vessel after Ballard Oil personnel noticed the tug was sitting abnormally
low in the water.
USCG Puget Sound incident management crewmembers conducted a
pollution assessment of the vessel and found a significant amount of oily water
in the engine room, but the tug was determined not to be in danger of sinking. A
containment boom was placed around the vessel.
“Our first priority is to remove all of the hazardous materials
from the vessel,” Petty Officer 2nd Class Nick Debrum, marine science technician
with the Incident Management Division, explained. “Doing so will prevent any pollutants
from leaving the vessel and decrease the risk of any harm coming to the environment.”
The USCG says money from the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust
Fund was used to cover costs associated with the recovery efforts.
