The tugboat, Island Champion, became grounded in the Steamboat Slough of the Snohomish River at about 1830 4/15/07. An estimated 150 gallons of red-dyed diesel fuel was spilled to the water and an additional approximate 1500 gallons was removed from the vessel's fuel tanks before it could spill. Most of the spilled fuel oil was immediately contained with hard boom and is believed to have been recovered with absorbent pads within about 16 hours of the spill. The vessel was still listing at about 40 degrees at the time completion of the pollution response at about 1500 4/16/07. The vessel was re-floated later in the evening of 4/16/07.
EPA Emergency Response Team Leader and OSC Anthony Barber received notification call from NRC at about 0300 4/16/07 while on duty as Phone Duty Officer. The National Response Center verbally reported a minor spill from a tugboat. The vessel had run aground during low tide in the Steamboat Slough of the Snohomish River near Everett. NRC also reported that USCG Sector Seattle had been notified of the spill.
The vessel, “Island Champion”, a 1940’s wooden tug of about 114 feet in length ran aground at about 1830 4/15/07 while attempting to change direction 180 degrees in the slough, which is about 250 feet wide at that point. The vessel became mired in mud on the north side of the channel (on Spencer Island), and listed about 40 degrees to starboard (toward the water). The owner Hilbert Bartells, of Pacific NW Charters) and the chief engineer were on board at the time of the grounding, and attempted to isolate the normally connected port and starboard fuel tanks from each other, but were too late to make any difference, as all the fuel had traveled to the starboard tank by then.
The owner called Global Diving and Salvage at some subsequent point, and Global arrived on-scene at approximately 2300 4/15/07. Global immediately placed containment boom around the vessel. Later, at a high tide, the starboard fuel tank vent became submerged in the water and fuel (red-dyed diesel) issued from the vent. A roughly estimated 150 gallons of fuel are believed to have discharged to the water in this manner. Global plugged the vent to minimize further fuel discharge. Absorbent pads were then used to recover the fuel within the containment. Tender personnel in small boats ferried the oiled pads inside plastic bags back to the staging and collection area on the south shore of the Slough for load out to a truck over several hours. A global diver inspected the underwater hull for damage or additional leakage points, but found none. It is believed that the sole leakage point was the submerged starboard fuel tank vent. The diver assessment was completed at about 0930.
About 0730 4/16/07 Barber received notice via Chris Field that USCG was on-scene at the spill, but that it was actually in EPA jurisdiction. EPA OSC Carl Lautenberger relieved Barber from Phone Duty, and Barber was dispatched to the scene. WDOE was not on-scene and USCG requested EPA presence and relief. Barber arrived at about 0830 on-scene, received a briefing and turnover from Petty Officer Hughes of USCG, and then relieved her and another USCG member. At about 0925 Mark Jobe, owner of the moorage on the south side of the Slough arrived and verbally granted unconditional access to state, federal, and responsible party personnel. Two WDOE spill responders (David Cline and Chris Wilkerson) arrived at about 0945. EPA OSC David Rees arrived on-scene at about 1020. The two USCG personnel demobilized at about 1030, having been relieved by EPA.
Visually from the south shore no obvious shoreline impacts from the spill and no significant related sheen could be observed for several hundred feet in both directions (up and down-stream). It is believed that the deployment of containment boom prevented, or at least minimized, discharge of oil beyond the immediate area of the vessel.
During a low tide at about 1045, the starboard fuel tank vent and the fuel fill access were well above the waterline. Global used a stinger and pump and began pumping fuel into a 300 gallon tote aboard one of their larger work boats, and then ferrying the fuel to the south shore where they had a vacuum truck remove the contents from the tote. At about 1100 Rees relieved Barber, and Barber demobilized from the scene. The lightering process continued until only about one inch of fuel remained in the starboard tank. Lautenberger notified the Dept. of the Interior and NOAA Fisheries as well as 4 local Tribes, the Lumani, Suquamish, Swinomish and the Tulalip tribes.
By about 1415 almost all the fuel oil had been removed and/or recovered, and the response to the discharge of oil was considered completed by EPA and WDOE. Both EPA and WDOE demobilized by about 1430 4/16/07. Efforts by Global and the owner to re-float the vessel were successful the evening of 4/16/07.
Oil fund reimbursable costs are expected to be negligible for this response, since no EPA overtime or travel and no contractor expenses were incurred.
No further removal actions are planned.
No further steps are planned
Initial confusion on USCG and EPA zones should be checked in to. However, an effective and cooperative transfer of resposne leadership from USCG to EPA was effected, when needed.
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