PORT TOWNSEND — A fishing boat moored at Port Townsend Boat Haven dumped about 100 gallons of diesel fuel in two separate spills three days apart, Coast Guard officials supervising a cleanup effort said Monday.
The Silver Lady, a 55-foot commercial vessel owned by William Hammer of Port Townsend, was the source of the spills, said Petty Officer Foster Robinson, a Coast Guard pollution investigator from Seattle.
The first spill took place Friday night while the Silver Lady was moored near the entrance to the marina while offloading.
The Port Townsend-based Coast Guard cutter Osprey deployed about 600 feet of boom around the marina’s entrance to stifle the spread of oil.
Fuel transferred
Terry Khile, an operator with the Port of Port Townsend who is certified in hazardous materials, said the first spill took place while fuel was being transferred.
“Fuel came burping out of a fuel tank vent tube,” said Khile, who along with the Coast Guard’s Robinson was observing cleanup efforts along the Port’s most southerly commercial docks, adjacent to the Coast Guard’s Port Townsend station and the Osprey.
The second spill was discovered after 7 a.m. Monday and occurred when the Silver Lady’s bilge pump switched on, spewing fuel into the waters.
The Silver Lady was moored next to the Osprey when the second spill occurred.
Private firm brought in
The owner of the vessel called in Global Diving and Salvage of Seattle to place additional booms and absorbent strips in the marina.
Global personnel, wearing orange rain gear and gloves, pulled collected absorbent strips soaked in oil along the commercial docks early Monday afternoon.
“These guys are doing a really good job of cleaning it up,” said Khile of the Global cleanup team, adding that sunny weather was also a help.
A light sheen of diesel oil, apparently spread when a storm kicked up overnight, was spotted around the Port Townsend ferry terminal Monday, said terminal agent Steve Long.
He reported his finding to Doug Stolz, senior hazardous materials specialist with the state Department of Ecology’s Spill Response Team who was at the terminal late Monday morning.
Stolz said he planned to inspect the downtown Port Townsend waterfront for other signs of oil.
“When it’s spread out like this, there’s nothing we really can do about it,” Stolz said, scanning the waters south of the ferry terminal.
He said up to 20 gallons of fuel managed to escape from the marina, causing the waterfront sheen.