AMAZON VENTURE; Tallaboa, Puerto Rico

Tallaboa, Puerto Rico | 1989-Jul-31

Initial Notification: NOAA/OMA was notified of the incident on July 31, 1989, by the Coast Guard Marine Safety Office, San Juan, and was asked to provide information on environmental resources-at-risk from the spill and on the slick's probable trajectory. NOAA reported that the shoreline is mostly sand beaches, gravel beaches, mixed sand and gravel beaches, and rocky shores or seawalls. The offshore islands that are surrounded by mangroves would not be affected if the winds continued to be easterly. NOAA estimated that the slick would tend to the west or northwest and would come ashore on beaches inshore and to the west of the facility. This could have occurred for a considerable distance, depending on the weather conditions and local small-scale oceanographic circulation patterns. There was a small chance that, with a large enough quantity of free-floating, unrestricted oil and continued easterly winds, the oil might round Punta Guayanilla and impact the beaches of Punta Verraco and Bahia de Guayanilla. If this did happen, NOAA advised that the large mangrove forests of Bahia de Guayanilla be protected. NOAA further advised that the oil would persist in the environment, with a small quantity evaporating during weathering. Reef impacts would be low because the oil is not very soluble; there would probably be no impacts at all below the surface, although there could be severe shoreline impacts. In addition, NOAA reported that the oil would strand at the high tide line and persist or wash away, depending on sand and gravel transport on that beach. Finally, sticky, weathered bunker oil would adhere to rocky shores and mangroves, killing the mangroves when the oil got into the root system. Turtles currently nesting in Puerto Rico and along the sandy beaches of Punta Verraco were at risk. Oiled adults would suffer irritated mucous membranes and would develop lesions that would probably result in an increased risk of infection. Oiled hatchlings would probably die, whether they were on the beach or floating offshore. Oiled turtle eggs and newly hatched turtles had a greater than 80% chance of mortality. There were many species of birds present, including the brown pelican, a federally listed endangered species. If oiled feathers remained untreated, the birds would die as a result of loss of insulation or ingestion of oil during preening. The diving birds (brown pelican, brown booby, terns), wading birds (herons and egrets), shorebirds (plovers, sandpipers), and ducks were the most likely to be affected because they would dive and wade into the oil slick. Seabirds (magnificent frigate bird) and gulls skim the surface when feeding and would also be affected. Large numbers of gulls would also be impacted. USCG district 7.