RTC 380; Carteret, New Jersey

Carteret, New Jersey | 1997-May-15

Initial Notification: At 0040 on May 15, 1997, the USCG ACT NY was notified of an oil spill at the GATX facility in Carteret, New Jersey. The discharge was the result of a tankerman falling asleep and overfilling the barge RTC 380. The weather was overcast and temperature was 50?F. An estimated 1,000 barrels of #2 fuel oil spilled into the water of the Arthur Kill. At the time of loading, the barge was surrounded by containment boom. The majority of the oil was held within the boom. Within 24 hours most of the oil was skimmed from within the boom. ACT NY acted as FOSC, Reinhauer Transportation, Inc. was the designated RP, and New Jersey and New York spill response agencies responded to form the Unified Command. Two cleanup contractor companies were hired to deploy boom and remove the oil. USCG district 1. Keyword: containment boom, evaporation, skimmers, vacuum trucks, weir/pump skimmer.