A Tuesday morning allision between a tug and barge on the Duwamish River at Seattle breached the tug’s hull, but responders quickly contained and cleaned up a diesel fuel spill, Coast Guard and Washington State officials said.
Island Tug and Barge reported the incident at 9:12 a.m. at its property on 3456 West Marginal Way SW, along the West Waterway of the Duwamish River, after the 99'x26'x13', 2,500 hp Island Scout suffered the mishap. Teams from Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound and the state Department of Ecology responded.
The tug was safely moored, and responders went to work.
“Island Tug and Barge and its response contractor Global Diving and Salvage contained the spill with double layers of containment boom, absorbent boom and absorbent pads,” according to a statement issued by the state agency.
The impact damaged a 9,000 gal. tank on the tug, but the company reported it contained about 1,200 gal. at the time of the allision. State officials said responders approached the situation assuming that full amount may have been released.
“Global Diving and Salvage is currently working to complete on-water recovery and cleanup of the discharged petroleum product,” said Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Madeline Ede, the federal on-scene coordinator representative. “The Coast Guard and Ecology are working together to monitor the situation to ensure any further environmental threats are mitigated.”
