By Karen Robes Meeks
An oil spill, 49 miles north of Kodiak in Shuyak Strait, Alaska, earlier this week has prompted the US Coast Guard and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation to set up a Unified Command response.
“The Unified Command's priorities are to limit environmental impacts through the containment and cleanup of the spill as quickly and efficiently as possible,” said Capt. Sean MacKenzie, Unified Command’s Federal on Scene Coordinator. “We are working diligently to minimize the impact to wildlife and the environment.”
Coast Guard, ADEC and Alaska Chadux Corporation crews are responding to the spill, which apparently happened after an abandoned building and an oil fuel bladder within it collapsed due to extreme weather Monday morning. The weather on Monday saw 40 mph winds and gusts up to 75 mph.
According to the Coast Guard, the bladder may have spilled up to 3,000 gallons of bunker C fuel oil.
The Coast Guard, which opened the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, is partnering with oil spill removal group Alaska Chadux to help with cleanup efforts.
Showing posts with label oil spill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oil spill. Show all posts
Friday, March 2, 2018
Friday, April 1, 2016
USCG Continues Monitoring of LA Harbor Oil Spill
By Mark Edward Nero
The US Coast Guard said March 25 that it is continuing to monitor an oil spill that occurred during a refueling operation in the Los Angeles Harbor on March 13.
The 577-foot cargo ship Istra Ace was reported to have leaked heavy fuel in the Los Angeles harbor while conducting a refueling operation earlier this month.
The cause of the spill, according to the Coast Guard, appears to be a faulty pipe onboard the ship that allowed heavy fuel oil to escape the confines of the bunker room and leak out of a hatch on the side of the ship.
During the initial stages of the oil spill response, clean up contractors contained and removed oil in the vicinity of the marina, from the channel, from the barge and cargo ship.
Currently, cleanup activities are ongoing in the vicinity of Berth 198 on the pier pilings. Clean up operations on the pilings are contingent on tidal cycles, which limit the amount of hours the pilings are accessible for cleaning.
“Coast Guard and California Fish and Wildlife continue to actively monitor all marinas and waterways affected during the incident to ensure cleanup activities were effective,” the USCG said in a statement.
The initial estimate of oil spilled reported to the National Response Center was 50 gallons of heavy fuel, but the USCG said that the estimate could be inaccurate and should not be definitively stated as the actual amount, because a final amount has still not been calculated.
Safety and security zones issued by the Coast Guard that restricted recreational and commercial vessel traffic in the affected area were removed March 17. The channel was reopened to all vessel traffic, both commercial and recreational, at that time.
The US Coast Guard said March 25 that it is continuing to monitor an oil spill that occurred during a refueling operation in the Los Angeles Harbor on March 13.
The 577-foot cargo ship Istra Ace was reported to have leaked heavy fuel in the Los Angeles harbor while conducting a refueling operation earlier this month.
The cause of the spill, according to the Coast Guard, appears to be a faulty pipe onboard the ship that allowed heavy fuel oil to escape the confines of the bunker room and leak out of a hatch on the side of the ship.
During the initial stages of the oil spill response, clean up contractors contained and removed oil in the vicinity of the marina, from the channel, from the barge and cargo ship.
Currently, cleanup activities are ongoing in the vicinity of Berth 198 on the pier pilings. Clean up operations on the pilings are contingent on tidal cycles, which limit the amount of hours the pilings are accessible for cleaning.
“Coast Guard and California Fish and Wildlife continue to actively monitor all marinas and waterways affected during the incident to ensure cleanup activities were effective,” the USCG said in a statement.
The initial estimate of oil spilled reported to the National Response Center was 50 gallons of heavy fuel, but the USCG said that the estimate could be inaccurate and should not be definitively stated as the actual amount, because a final amount has still not been calculated.
Safety and security zones issued by the Coast Guard that restricted recreational and commercial vessel traffic in the affected area were removed March 17. The channel was reopened to all vessel traffic, both commercial and recreational, at that time.
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Bulk Carrier Spills Oil in Columbia River
By Mark Edward Nero
The bulk carrier Nord Auckland spilled roughly 80
gallons of oil in the Columbia River while anchored near the Port of Kalama on
Feb. 18, the US Coast Guard and Washington Dept. of Ecology say.
According to the USCG, watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector
Columbia River received reports of sheening in the water from National Response
Center personnel shortly after 10 am on the date of the incident, then about 1
pm, pollution response experts from the Incident Management Division, based at
Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Portland, Oregon, arrived on scene.
Dept. of Ecology staff later participated in an overflight
surveillance and observed a number of sheening trails downriver. Oil was
observed near shorelines and near wildlife concentrations, however, no direct
observations of oiled wildlife have been reported, according to the USCG.
The 610-foot Singapore-flagged Nord Auckland, which was
built in 2010, reportedly released bunker oil due to operator error: the oil
was intended to be burned in the incinerator.
The vessel’s owner contracted the spill response and
prevention non-profit Clean Rivers Cooperative, which responded with crews on
two booming vessels to engage in cleanup operations.
However, after performing a close inspection of the oil
observed by air, the boat assessment team determined that the oil was too thin
and weathered to be recovered by mechanical collection methods.
The incident is still under investigation, according to
Coast Guard Sector Columbia River.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Ship Owner, Operator Fined After Port of Portland Oil Spill
Weeks after an oil spill at the Port of Portland, the owner and operator of a Cyprus-flagged ship involved in the incident have pleaded guilty to federal charges of environmental pollution.
On Nov. 2, Greece-based A.E. Nomikos Shipping Inv. and Lounia Shipping Co. of Cyprus, the owner and operator of the 620-foot Arion SB, were jointly fined $750,000 by a US federal judge.
The companies admitted to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, failing to maintain proper records of oil residue disposals and doctoring records of its onboard waste-oil incinerator.
The US Attorney’s office has said the case isn’t specifically tied to the oil spill, but to the findings of an Oct. 16 safety exam by the US Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency. The spill occurred Oct. 18 at a Port of Portland export terminal.
About 300 fish were found dead in the water after the spill, state wildlife officials say. Although a clear link between the incident and the deaths of the fish still has not been established, half of money from the fine has been designated for the Oregon Governor’s Fund for the Environment, which is administered by the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation.
On Nov. 2, Greece-based A.E. Nomikos Shipping Inv. and Lounia Shipping Co. of Cyprus, the owner and operator of the 620-foot Arion SB, were jointly fined $750,000 by a US federal judge.
The companies admitted to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, failing to maintain proper records of oil residue disposals and doctoring records of its onboard waste-oil incinerator.
The US Attorney’s office has said the case isn’t specifically tied to the oil spill, but to the findings of an Oct. 16 safety exam by the US Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency. The spill occurred Oct. 18 at a Port of Portland export terminal.
About 300 fish were found dead in the water after the spill, state wildlife officials say. Although a clear link between the incident and the deaths of the fish still has not been established, half of money from the fine has been designated for the Oregon Governor’s Fund for the Environment, which is administered by the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Salvors Removing Oil From M/V Rena
Salvors led by Danish company Svitzer continue to pump oil from the grounded containership Rena, while on shore the incident command team is planning for any impact on the shoreline from the oil that has been leaking from the ship since it struck the Astrolabe Reef, near New Zealand's Tauranga Harbor on October 5th.
Nearly half of the oil on board the grounded Rena has been pumped off the ship, leaving approximately 700 tons in the ship, held in five different tanks.
Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) Salvage Unit Manager Bruce Anderson said two booster pumps installed on Sunday afternoon had sped up the pumping rate from the port tank, and salvage teams were continuing to work on ways to extract oil from the submerged starboard tank and two settling tanks in the engine room.
The salvors have loaded more equipment on the ship including a lighting system.
“This is important, because they have been working in dark, oily corridors, which is clearly risky and challenging,” Mr Anderson said.
“The lighting will make the working environment safer for the teams on board. They have also loaded heavy duty compressors to aid the pumping system.”
National On-Scene Commander Rob Service said planning teams were continuing to track the movement of between 5 and 10 metric tons that leaked from the ship overnight Saturday. He noted that while it is a relatively small amount of oil, it is the most significant amount released since the vessel shifted and spilled around 300 metric tons October 11th.
Nearly half of the oil on board the grounded Rena has been pumped off the ship, leaving approximately 700 tons in the ship, held in five different tanks.
Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) Salvage Unit Manager Bruce Anderson said two booster pumps installed on Sunday afternoon had sped up the pumping rate from the port tank, and salvage teams were continuing to work on ways to extract oil from the submerged starboard tank and two settling tanks in the engine room.
The salvors have loaded more equipment on the ship including a lighting system.
“This is important, because they have been working in dark, oily corridors, which is clearly risky and challenging,” Mr Anderson said.
“The lighting will make the working environment safer for the teams on board. They have also loaded heavy duty compressors to aid the pumping system.”
National On-Scene Commander Rob Service said planning teams were continuing to track the movement of between 5 and 10 metric tons that leaked from the ship overnight Saturday. He noted that while it is a relatively small amount of oil, it is the most significant amount released since the vessel shifted and spilled around 300 metric tons October 11th.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Officials Looking Into Tanker Spill at Long Beach Port Terminal
Government officials are investigating the cause of an accidental discharge of 710 gallons of fuel oil Monday by an oil tanker berthed at a Port of Long Beach oil terminal.
Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach and California Fish and Game personnel are investigating the spill, which occurred at Tesoro’s Terminal at Berth 84A during an internal transfer of fuel onboard the Libyan-flagged tanker Aljalaa.
At approximately 7:30 p.m. on Monday the internal transfer process went awry and fuel was flushed over the vessel's deck into the water.
The USCG, DFG, and the vessel's emergency response management company, O’Brien’s Response Management, immediately established a Unified Command at the Tesoro Long Beach Terminal to coordinate the response.
Several oil spill response organizations responded to contain and to recover the fuel oil. Responders deployed 5,000 feet of containment boom around the affected areas of the wharf to isolate and control the spill. Vessel traffic was limited during the clean up.
No injuries or animal deaths occurred during the spill and clean up, according to the Coast Guard.
The incident is the second in less than a week at the port involving the Coast Guard. Friday evening a vessel at anchor was blown aground during stormy weather onto one of the man-made oil islands near the port. In this case no oil spill resulted, and a subsequent multi-agency inspection of the ship's hull found scraping but no punctures.
Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach and California Fish and Game personnel are investigating the spill, which occurred at Tesoro’s Terminal at Berth 84A during an internal transfer of fuel onboard the Libyan-flagged tanker Aljalaa.
At approximately 7:30 p.m. on Monday the internal transfer process went awry and fuel was flushed over the vessel's deck into the water.
The USCG, DFG, and the vessel's emergency response management company, O’Brien’s Response Management, immediately established a Unified Command at the Tesoro Long Beach Terminal to coordinate the response.
Several oil spill response organizations responded to contain and to recover the fuel oil. Responders deployed 5,000 feet of containment boom around the affected areas of the wharf to isolate and control the spill. Vessel traffic was limited during the clean up.
No injuries or animal deaths occurred during the spill and clean up, according to the Coast Guard.
The incident is the second in less than a week at the port involving the Coast Guard. Friday evening a vessel at anchor was blown aground during stormy weather onto one of the man-made oil islands near the port. In this case no oil spill resulted, and a subsequent multi-agency inspection of the ship's hull found scraping but no punctures.
Friday, November 12, 2010
SoCal Ports See Trio of Safety and Law Enforcement Incidents
Safety and law enforcement officials have been busy at the Southern California ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, with three incidents requiring action occurring in the space of three days.
On Sunday night, a vessel refueling at the Port of Long Beach spilled between 500 and 3,000 gallons of bunker fuel into the port's back channel, according to the US Coast Guard. While the bulk carrier Da Tang 18 and the fueling barge were boomed, fuel did reach outside the boomed area. Federal and state officials placed a temporary fishing ban on the area, which was eventually lifted by Tuesday. The cause of the spill is under investigation.
A second incident took place Monday morning at the neighboring Port of Los Angeles when the arriving vessel Maersk Sophia reported three containers located below decks were leaking chemicals. Officials found that the containers were leaking hydrogen and cyanamid, both potential airborne threats to human health. Clean up of the three containers was completed by Monday afternoon and port officials said there were no injuries or delays to other vessels.
The third incident took place Tuesday when US Customs and Border Protection officers were called to the Los Angeles port to take six Chinese stowaways aboard an arriving Japanese auto carrier into custody. The stowaways were discovered aboard the vessel on Sunday and held aboard ship until the vessel arrived at the port. A search of the vessel by CBP officers turned up no other stowaways. A CBP spokesman said it was unclear if the six stowaways would be returned to China.
On Sunday night, a vessel refueling at the Port of Long Beach spilled between 500 and 3,000 gallons of bunker fuel into the port's back channel, according to the US Coast Guard. While the bulk carrier Da Tang 18 and the fueling barge were boomed, fuel did reach outside the boomed area. Federal and state officials placed a temporary fishing ban on the area, which was eventually lifted by Tuesday. The cause of the spill is under investigation.
A second incident took place Monday morning at the neighboring Port of Los Angeles when the arriving vessel Maersk Sophia reported three containers located below decks were leaking chemicals. Officials found that the containers were leaking hydrogen and cyanamid, both potential airborne threats to human health. Clean up of the three containers was completed by Monday afternoon and port officials said there were no injuries or delays to other vessels.
The third incident took place Tuesday when US Customs and Border Protection officers were called to the Los Angeles port to take six Chinese stowaways aboard an arriving Japanese auto carrier into custody. The stowaways were discovered aboard the vessel on Sunday and held aboard ship until the vessel arrived at the port. A search of the vessel by CBP officers turned up no other stowaways. A CBP spokesman said it was unclear if the six stowaways would be returned to China.
