Pass Tante Phine; Pass Tante Phine, Louisiana

Pass Tante Phine, Louisiana | 1992-Feb-20

Initial Notification: At 1500, February 20, 1992, a commercial helicopter notified the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Marine Safety Office (MSO) New Orleans that a 2,000-yard slick in Pass Tante Phine, approximately four nautical miles southwest of Venice, Louisiana, was coming from an abandoned 525-barrel crude oil tank battery and waste oil pit. MSO personnel arrived on scene at 1545 and estimated that 100 barrels were in the water and around the tank battery. An unknown quantity remained in the sludge pit. Mechanical cleanup operations were initiated by MSO personnel. There was no measurable evaporation taking place. The mineral oil product covered various areas up to five miles away from the tank battery. Mechanical cleanup was nearly impossible because the area was so shallow. The currents and tides moved the product out of the area and into the open Gulf very slowly. Cleanup was not completed until April 16, 1992, because secondary leaks were detected in pipelines leading to the tank battery. USCG district 8. Keyword: none.