The following is the text of a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard:
(SEATTLE) — Coast Guard and Washington Department of Ecology personnel are responding to a diesel spill caused by an allision between a tug and barge on the Duwamish River on Tuesday.
The tug involved in the allision is safely moored and the spill has been contained with layers of containment boom, absorbent boom and absorbent pads.
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 spill occurred at 3456 West Marginal Way SW on the West Waterway of the Duwamish River. The incident caused a breach in the hull of the tug, which damaged one of its diesel fuel tanks.
The tank's capacity is 9,000 gallons, however the reporting source stated it contained approximately 1,200 gallons at the time of the incident.
"Global Diving and Salvage is currently working to complete on-water recovery and cleanup of the discharged petroleum product," said Lt. j.g. Madeline Ede, 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."
