Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Oil Spilled in Honolulu Harbor

By Karen Robes Meeks

An oil discharge near Pier 19 in Honolulu, Hawaii, prompted the US Coast Guard to respond to the incident Thursday.

Vessel Kamokuiki contacted Coast Guard Sector Honolulu watchstanders Wednesday night about “heavy fuel oil discharged during bunkering operations with a barge.”

The crew quickly “secured the discharge, activated their Vessel Response Plan, and began clean-up operations,” according to USCG.

About 25 bales of absorbent material spanning the vessel’s stern to Pier 22 were deployed. Surrounding the bales were 1600 feet of hard boom deployed by two response vessels.

Cleanup efforts are underway. The bales collected two barrels (about 84 gallons) of oil and skimmers have cleaned up 40 gallons.

No wildlife has reportedly been affected.