Sunken Barge; Bellingham Bay, Washington

Bellingham Bay, Washington | 1985-Oct-13

Initial Notification: In early October 1985, the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office (MSO), Seattle, received a series of reports from citizens in the Bellingham Bay area of oil sheens on the Bay. Investigation by the Coast Guard revealed that a barge had sunk 10 years earlier in the approximate vicinity of the reported oil sightings. The barge was believed to have had fuel tanks with some product in them when it went down. The Coast Guard decided that a survey of the barge was necessary to determine whether it could be the source of the oil sightings. USCG district 13.