Diesel Fuel Spill on Duwamish River

The US Coast Guard and Washington Department of Ecology responded to a fuel spill in Seattle on the West Waterway of the Duwamish River after a tug and barge collided. The incident occurred at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound, Ecology and the National Response Center were notified of the spill by the operator of Island Tug and Barge at 9:12 a.m. The hull of the tug was breached in the collision, and damage was sustained to one of the diesel fuel tanks.

While the tank’s capacity is 9,000 gallons, the tug was reportedly carrying only 1,200 gallons of fuel at the time of the incident. Larry Altose of the Ecology Department said, “We’ll treat response as if all spilled, until we learn differently.”

According to Lt. j.g. Madeline Ede, federal on scene coordinator representative, “Global Diving and Salvage is currently working to complete on-water recovery and cleanup of the discharged petroleum product. The Coast Guard and Ecology are working together to monitor the situation to ensure any further environmental threats are mitigated.”

Containment booms and absorbent pads have been placed in the waterway to contain the spill.