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T/V Grand Eagle; Delaware River, Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania

Delaware River, Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania | 1985-Feb-01

Initial Notification: At 2330 on September 28, 1985, the Panamanian Tank Vessel Grand Eagle, loaded with 530,659 barrels of Ninian Crude oil, ran aground in the Delaware River near Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. A cargo tank ruptured causing the release of 10,370 barrels of oil into the waterway, impacting a 12 mile section of the river and the surrounding shoreline. The weather at the time of the accident was clear with broken cloud coverage. Winds were NNW at 17-21 knots and the temperature was 68?F. The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) was notified immediately. The On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) supervised all response and cleanup operations from September 28 to November 8, 1985. The Grand Eagle was freed from its grounding site at 0040, September 29 and was moved to the Sun Oil Company Refinery at Marcus Hook where the remaining cargo was offloaded. The OSC authorized movement of the vessel with tug escort to Pennsylvania Shipbuilding in Chester, Pennsylvania to begin repairs on the damaged cargo tank. Oil was boomed away from the vessel before beginning the moving operation, and a skimmer remained with the vessel to collect any oil lost during transit. The vessel was moved without incident, and there was no significant loss of oil from the containment area. USCG district 1. Keyword: Vegetation cutting, water-washing, high pressure washing, low pressure washing, Tri-State Bird Rescue Center, New Jersey State Department of Environmental Protection (NJ DEP), Delaware Bay and River Cooperative, U.S. Navy Superintendent of Salvage (NAVSUPSALV), manual removal, boom, disposal, sorbent pads, vacuum truck..

Incident Details
Products of concern:Ninian Crude Oil
Total amount at risk of spill: 436,000 gallons
Latitude (approximate): 39° 50.00′ North
Longitude (approximate): 75° 25.00′ West