Crowley Marine Services Barge 101; Guemes Island, Puget Sound, Washington

Guemes Island, Puget Sound, Washington | 1994-Dec-31

Initial Notification: The Crowley Marine Services Barge 101 under tow by the tug Mercury from Vancouver, British Columbia to Guemes Island, Washington for bunkering operations, lost approximately 26,000 gallons of marine diesel somewhere en route. The barge and tow departed Vancouver at 1500 on December 30 and the spill was detected by personnel on the tug as they moored alongside the barge upon reaching Guemes Island at 0100 on December 31. Sheen was seen bubbling up from the bottom of the barge near the #6 starboard tank. Crowley deployed boom around the barge and started recovery operations within the boom using portable disk skimmers. Divers surveyed the vessel and discovered a 4-foot by 4-inch gash in the #6 starboard tank 18 feet below the water line, and a 6-inch long crack in the #4 starboard tank; no oil was seen leaking from either damaged tank. The #5 starboard tank showed signs of damage but had not been holed. Divers patched the holes in both damaged tanks and operations to lighter the entire 63,000 barrels of cargo before moving the damaged barge were begun. Lightering took place in three separate off-loading operations using a second tug and tank barge that subsequently off-loaded to the T/V Ocean Spirit anchored nearby. Lightering was completed at 1300 on January 1, 1995, and Barge 101 was towed by tug Mercury to Terminal 115 in the Duwamish Waterway, Seattle, Washington, to await inspection in a dry dock. USCG district 13. Keyword: portable disk and skimpac skimmers, International Bird Rescue and Research Center.