Thought this would be of interest to Tweeters.



Sue Trevathan

Vashon Island



From: wageneral at googlegroups.com [mailto:wageneral at googlegroups.com] On
Behalf Of Jerry Joyce
Sent: Monday, May 14, 2012 10:40 PM
To: Washington State Audubon list
Cc: 'SAS Conservation'; SAS Board; 'Shawn Cantrell'
Subject: [WAGeneral] FW: A Large Spill from Fishing Vessel DEEP SEA has
occurred in Penn Cove, Whidbey Island, WA



FYI. This is a bad, but typical situation. The vessel that sank was
essentially a derelict vessel, as the new owner was not actively maintaining
the vessel. The area is an incredibly sensitive one, where there is a large
shellfish harvest (Penn Cove) and plenty of important habitat. Fortunately,
we have had almost ideal conditions to respond to the spill with light
winds, slow currents in the area, and warm, sunny weather that promoted
evaporation. Of course, this does not mean that everything is going
away-evaporation puts the chemicals in the air, and the remaining, heavier
particles, enter the water column. I'll be monitoring this spill and
possibly get out to the area tomorrow. When I receive updates, I'll forward
them.



Jerry Joyce

Moon Joyce Resources

www.MoonJoyce.com



From: Neel, Jon (ECY) [mailto:jnee461 at ECY.WA.GOV]
Sent: Monday, May 14, 2012 8:54 PM
Subject: A Large Spill from Fishing Vessel DEEP SEA has occurred in Penn
Cove, Whidbey Island, WA



Hello - This is a DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY - SPILLS PROGRAM - SITUATION REPORT

Regarding a Fire, Sinking and Oil Spill from the 128-foot long Fishing
Vessel Deep Sea

Located at Penn Cove, near Coupeville on Whidbey Island

Report Date May 14, 2012



Summary:

Ecology's Spills Program has been responding with the US Coast Guard for the
past day and a half to a fire aboard the 128-foot long steel hulled fishing
vessel Deep Sea while it was anchored in Penn Cove off of Whidbey Island,
near Coupeville, WA. The situation has deteriorated over this time period.


Central Whidbey Island Fire Department notified the US Coast Guard of a boat
fire in Penn Cove late in the evening of May 12, 2012. The Fire Department
responded with a fire boat from the Camano Island Fire Department, but
stopped pumping water onto the fire so as not to affect the vessel's
stability. Ecology was notified on May 13, 2012 at 2:55 AM. At that time
the vessel was still afloat and there was no report of an oil spill.

The vessel sank the following evening May 13th resulting in a large spill of
diesel fuel and possibly other oils. The amount of oil originally on-board
the vessel was reported by the owner to be between 50 and 100 gallons, the
actual volume is unknown. As of 4:30 PM today, it is estimated that a total
of about 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel has been recovered, about 500 gallons
from the vessel tanks and the rest from the surface of the water. A
significant amount of diesel has also evaporated during today's hot weather.
However, diesel fuel is continuing to bubble-up from the sunken vessel at an
estimated rate of 2 - 3 gallons per minute.

The US Coast Guard responded quickly to the burning vessel and formed a
Unified Command with the Department of Ecology and the Central Whidbey
Island Fire Department. The Coast Guard opened the Federal Oil Spill
Liability Trust Fund to pay for the response and has hired a salvage team.
The salvage operation is now going to 24-hour dive operations to pump off
any additional diesel that may remain in the sunken vessel. In addition to
the fire department, other agencies involved include the Washington
departments of Natural Resources, Health and Fish & Wildlife, and the Island
County Health Department.

A floating oil sheen has reached shorelines in the area but the oil does not
appear to be accumulating on beaches at this time. Nearly all of the
remainder of the oil released into the environment so far has either been
removed or has evaporated, very little is likely to have entered the water
column. However as an extra precaution, the Penn Cove Shellfish Company
has temporarily suspended their harvesting operations and have lowered their
shellfish crop deeper into the water as a precautionary measure to protect
their high quality submerged shellfish.

The cause of the fire and sinking is under investigation. The situation
remains somewhat fluid and we will provide additional information if the
situation further degrades.

Situation: Yesterday, May 13, 2012 at 2:55 AM, Ecology was notified that
the Fishing Vessel Deep Sea had caught fire at Penn Cove. Ecology personnel
immediately responded and spent yesterday and today on-scene. The weather
conditions for the response operations have been ideal. A significant
amount of oil has been recovered by a MARCO type skimmer hired by the Coast
Guard. A second skimmer has been ordered along with other oil response
equipment. Additional oil containment boom is being deployed, and each
layer of boom has been successful in collecting oil.

The residents in area including Coupeville were affected by smoke from the
fire, but have not been affected by the spilled oil. No oiled birds or
mammals have been identified.

The Deep Sea is an older fishing vessel that was purchased by the current
owner in December. The vessel was anchored in Penn Cove at the time of the
fire. The vessel is now completely submerged in 60 feet of water.
Discussions are currently underway as to if and how it should be salvaged
without spilling additional oil.

Ecology's activities to date include:

. Working with the Coast Guard in a Unified Command to manage the
response and clean-up.

. Conduct an over flight to observe the extent and fate of the oil.

. Collect oil samples for analysis at the Department of Ecology lab
in Manchester, WA.

. Coordinated with other agencies to ensure their concerns were
addressed in the Unified Command.

. Worked to provide accurate and timely information to the media.

Priorities: At this time the Department of Ecology is working with the
Coast Guard and others to:

. Protect the Health and Safety of the public and response
personnel.

. Deliver a rapid, aggressive and well coordinated response action.

. Establish a strong field presence to monitor and act on the
situation.

. Ensure all reasonable actions are taken to control the source and
recover spilled oil.

. Maintain a Unified Command and activate Ecology's incident command
post.

. Establish joint Unified Command priorities.

. Notify key stakeholders.

. Sustain 24 hour operations during the current planning cycle.

. Provide timely, clear and accurate public information about the
incident.

. Assess the impact of the spill on shorelines, water quality,
shellfish and critical habitats.



I hope this information is useful. Please contact me or David Byers if you
have any suggestions or questions regarding this spill.

Jon Neel, Incident Liaison



It is often easiest to reach me by e-mail or cell phone

Cell - (360) 480-5696

Policy Team Lead

Spill Prevention, Preparedness and Response Program

Washington State, Department of Ecology



David Byers, Spill Response Section Manager may be reached at:

Dbye461 at ecy.wa.gov

Office - (360) 407-6974



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