M/V Tai Chung; Willamette River, Portland, Oregon

Willamette River, Portland, Oregon | 1991-Dec-28

Initial Notification: At 0235 on December 28, 1991, the U. S. Coast Guard (USCG) Group Portland received a report of an oil spill at the Columbia Aluminum dock at river mile 10 on the Willamette River. Approximately 8,000 gallons of intermediate fuel oil was spilled by the motor vessel Tai Chung, a bulk aluminum oxide carrier, during bunkering operations from a fuel barge tied up next to it. The spill occurred during the ebb tide under calm wind conditions. The vessel owner, Taiwan Navigation Company Limited, accepted responsibility for the cleanup. Boom was deployed around the vessel within the first three hours of the spill, and cleanup of the free-floating oil and oiled shoreline began on December 28, continuing until February 5. Cleanup operations were monitored by USCG Marine Safety Office (MSO) Portland pollution investigators and two members of the USCG Pacific Strike Team in close coordination with representatives from Oregon's departments of Environmental Quality and Fish and Game. USCG district 13. Keyword: containment boom, high-pressure, cold-water washing, skimmers, sorbent boom, vacuum trucks.