Green Philly - Oil spill fouls the Delaware River - PhillyBlog

timothyb · #1 (**permalink**) 11-27-2004, 02:52 PM

Quote:

A tanker spilled 30,000 gallons of crude oil into the Delaware River between Philadelphia and southern New Jersey, Coast Guard officials said Saturday.

Private contractors were called in to skim oil from the surface of the water and place thousands of feet of boom to contain the floating slick.

A stretch of less than 10 miles of the busy river was closed to commercial and recreational traffic while the spill was being cleaned up.

"I would classify any spill in the water as significant," said Coast Guard Petty Officer John Edwards . "We're working very quickly and diligently to expedite the cleanup."

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the spill, Edwards said. He said the leak had stopped by late Saturday morning.

The tanker, the Athos I, registered in the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus, was carrying 325,000 barrels of oil from Venezuela when it began leaking Friday night, said Jim Lawrence, a spokesman for the vessel's owner, Greek shipping company Tsakos Shipping and Trading SA. The crew notified the Coast Guard and began transferring oil from the leaking tank to another tank on board, he said.

The nearly 750-foot-long ship, built in 1983, was last out of the water for maintenance in April, Lawrence said. He said it had never before spilled oil.

The tanker was seen listing about 300 yards from its destination, a Citgo refinery in Paulsboro, N.J.

Ugh, just what we need, a PA Valdez oil spill.. =(

timothyb · #2 (**permalink**) 11-28-2004, 02:21 PM

According to the Tribune Media Services:

Quote:

At least 50 birds died from the spill, said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials, and 300 other birds as well as fish were threatened.

Contractors were working to contain and remove the oil from the water. A stretch of the busy river was closed to commercial and recreational traffic while the spill was being cleaned up.

Two tugboats were guiding the 750-foot-long ship to a pier Friday night when a tugboat skipper noticed the spill, said Coast Guard Capt. Jonathan Sarubbi, officer in charge of the Port of Philadelphia. The ship listed 8 degrees to the left about the same time, he said.

The crew notified the Coast Guard and began transferring oil from the leaking tank to another one on board. The spillage was stopped within an hour.

The cause of the leak was under investigation, Sarubbi said.

It was the worst spill on the river since 1995, when strong wind pushed a docked tanker, snapped a fuel line and caused 40,000 gallons of oil to leak.

More on the story at Greenphilly.info

chrissayer · #4 (**permalink**) 11-29-2004, 12:01 PM

The "transfer" story was a farce - had nothing to do with it.

Instead, this "double hulled" ship turned out to be a single hull - and had a six foot gash from hitting something (one assumes) along the tank.

No single hull ships should be allowed on the Delaware - they've been banned many other places because of leaks.

SurfDog · #5 (**permalink**) 11-29-2004, 12:18 PM

What is Greenphilly.info?

SwiftLyons · #6 (**permalink**) 11-30-2004, 10:27 AM

chris single hulled ships will be phased out in the u.s. in 5 or 6 years.
cant remember exact time frame.
got it: Under the Oil Pollution Act, all tankers carrying oil and petroleum products in U.S. territorial waters must have double hulls by 2015. Existing single-hulled tankers are being converted for non-hazardous cargoes or phased out of service on a graduated time table

chrissayer · #7 (**permalink**) 11-30-2004, 12:35 PM

I believe it is seven years from now, in U.S. territorial waters.

Still, they should have been phased out already in interior waters like the Delaware.

I am struck by the fact that news media first said it was a double hulled vessel - then a day later, backed off. I would guess that the shipping company tried to make that claim - since I can't imagine that they would have gotten that information anywhere else.

According to today's paper - it took five hours to get the response teams out. I wonder how much time it took for the company to report the spill - since the ship apparently tried to transfer the oil to another tank first.

Early reports were that the spill happened while transfer was taking place. Given the size of the gashes in the hull, they could not have missed knowing that the ship had hit something or run aground.

SwiftLyons · #8 (**permalink**) 12-01-2004, 09:26 AM

The news is now saying the spill could be 15x bigger than originally thought. Yet the response seems weak.

PAULSBORO, N.J. (AP) -- The Coast Guard said Tuesday that investigators believe much more oil spilled from a ruptured tanker in the Delaware River near Philadelphia than the 30,000 gallons initially reported.

Coast Guard Lt. Buddy Dye said 473,500 gallons from the tanker Athos I are unaccounted for, but called a leak of that size a "worst-case scenario."

New Jersey Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell said that while the oily muck was concentrated within a few miles of Paulsboro, across the river from Philadelphia International Airport, an oily sheen could be seen along about 40 miles of the river.

chrissayer · #9 (**permalink**) 12-01-2004, 11:27 AM

Three days later, they simply say "Ooops," we lost a "little" more than we thought.

I can't figure out why the news media didn't get this before. The ship, single hulled, was one big tank with a "bilge/ballast second tank." Punch a hole in it and the oil runs out.

This is now the worst spill in the history of the Delaware River. Think of it as a "full employment act" for attorneys up and down the east coast.

And the double-hulled requirement - I read somewhere that it doesn't kick in until 2015 - and the law was passed in 1990 (following the Exxon Valdez disaster). Twenty five years - they really got tough on them.

SwiftLyons · #10 (**permalink**) 12-01-2004, 11:50 AM

chris when the wind kicked up this morning i could smell the oil. i'm not far from the river down here.

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