A 30-foot sport fishing boat that sank overnight Monday in Lake Tashmoo was removed from the pond Tuesday as officials assessed the damage from the boat's diesel fuel spilling into the water.
A 30-foot sport fishing boat that sank overnight Monday in Lake Tashmoo was removed from the pond Tuesday, as officials continued to assess damage from the diesel fuel that spilled into the water.
Reached by phone Tuesday afternoon, Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Joe Ferson said the boat had been lifted out of the water without any additional leakage.
Snooper being pulled from the water; officials said most of the fuel stayed on board.
Snooper being pulled from the water; officials said most of the fuel stayed on board.
Shellfish beds remained closed, but the overall environmental impacts of the spill fortunately were minimal, Mr. Ferson said. Oil that escaped produced a thin sheen that floated visibly on the lake's surface, but most of the vessel's 150 gallons were still on board. Rainbow patterns were also evident along the shoreline at the Lake street landing.
"It looks as if it's a minimal impact due to the fact that the vent holes were plugged immediately and during the removal process," Mr. Ferson said.
Ronald Barry of Falmouth, the boat owner, is responsible for recovery and clean-up costs, Mr. Ferson said. The costs of the response have yet to be determined.
By early Monday afternoon, fire department personnel had mostly contained the diesel oil that spilled from the sunken boat, the Snooper out of Boston. On Tuesday estimates from the Coast Guard, who were on the scene, put the amount of the spill at about 20 gallons. Tisbury shellfish constable Danielle Ewart was walking the shoreline to assess possible damage.
Ms. Ewart notified the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) about the spill Monday morning, and state officials ordered the pond closed to shellfishing until further notice. DMF officials reportedly traveled to the Island to assess the damage. Ms. Ewart said she responded to the spill and notified the harbor master at 8:43 a.m.
Oil soaking pads were spread along the shoreline.
Oil soaking pads were spread along the shoreline.
A sheen of diesel oil spread over a large portion of the Lake Tashmoo shoreline on both sides of the Lake street boat landing, an area where many shellfish beds are located.
Tisbury fire chief John Schilling estimated there was about 150 gallons of diesel fuel on board when the vessel sank. At first it was not immedately known how much fuel had spilled into the pond.
“There’s no more fuel coming out of the boat,” said Chief Schilling just before noon on Monday. “Our goal is to contain it and keep it from spreading any further.”
The sport fishing boat, about 30 feet long, lay on its port side in shallow water near the head of Lake Tashmoo, about 300 yards south of the Lake street dock. Only part of the cabin and the fly bridge remained above water.
The odor of diesel fuel hung in the air as local fishermen deployed an emergency containment boom along the dock to catch some of the spreading fuel sheen. The boom was stored on the scene for such an emergency.
The Coast Guard said less than 20 gallons of diesel fuel spilled into the water.
The Coast Guard said less than 20 gallons of diesel fuel spilled into the water.
Tisbury officials responded with their oil spill prevention and response unit later to deploy a much larger oil containment boom along the shoreline. First responders also spread oil soaking pads along the shoreline, which quickly blotted up pink-dyed diesel fuel.
Diesel fuel is lighter than saltwater, and when spilled, most of it floats on the surface where it quickly evaporates. But fuel additives can sink and contaminate the bottom, and fuel which settles on the shoreline can contaminate sand and soil. Fire officials said they were concerned that the rising tide would push some of the fuel further up the shoreline, leaving contamination when the tide recedes.
Comments
Lies! The Harbor master Dept
Coverup TisburyLies! The Harbor master Dept was notified at 08:30 in the morning! But NO one is in the office till 10;00! They got down at the dock at 11:00! Then they left. Then the Shellfish dept showed up. Looked and then they left. No one except a couple if concerned Fisherman who were down there at 08:30 did anything! They deployed the only thing they had a emergancy boom that was stored at the dock. They watched as officials came and went like NO one knew what to do or who should they call next! It wasn't till someone called EPO Comm center in New Bedford did a Chief Shilling Finaly get the call!! And things started rolling! 3hrs after the first report!! Stupid plan stupid!
Why didn't the "concerned
curiousWhy didn't the "concerned fishermen" think to call the communication center? Especially after not getting an answer from the harbormaster's office. These situations are why we have a communication center on the island. The communication center would have immediately notify the appropriate people. It sounds like the "concerned fishermen" delayed an appropriate response.
Hmmm.....Steve Myrick is now
June Manning Aquinnah, MAHmmm.....Steve Myrick is now writing for the Vineyard Gazette.
Very sad to read that the shellfish beds will be closed at Tashmoo for a while. Nice to know there was a quick response by all involved to the situation. Hope it all dissipates quickly.
The communication center had
Tyler Vineyard HavenThe communication center had to be notified to contact Mrs. Edwart due to situation at hand in tashmoo. Mrs. Edwart did not call in the report herself.
We've updated the story,
Editor Vineyard GazetteWe've updated the story, thank you.
Had to be the only boat in
Ken Edg.Had to be the only boat in there. Still below freezing every night.
The boom on the scene is
tom Vineyard havenThe boom on the scene is stored at the dock for spills that may a cure while fueling up boats at the dock the boom is not the adequate size to contain such a spill of this size it is only large enough to surround a 50 foot area .
Over 1600 feet of boom was deployed by fire rescue personal.
I have to say witnessing this
Concerned Martha's vineyardI have to say witnessing this was absolutely terrifying .. The lack of effort and response in an emergency situation was piss poor although I commened the fire dept for doing what they could, it was an absolute mess !! You would
Think the town would have a plan if something like this happened you could tell that if they did it was never gone over or practiced... Officials were scrambling and frustrated in a situation that time matters it was aggravating to say the least.. Last thing that gets me is they put the boom around the boat at the end after an hour or two of "thinking" and trying things on the dock or atleast that's what I saw
On Sunday, people tried to
Alison HouseOn Sunday, people tried to notify the asst. harbor master of Tashmoo that a boat was sitting low in the water. NO response from him. They wanted a contact number so they could alert the boat owner. A number which he had. So, this was the result... Otherwise, the boat owner would have been there asap to remedy the situation. What good is having a person that has been hired to oversee the harbor if they won't take the time to answer their phone in a situation that can possibly be taken care of? Or just answer their phone, regardless! But he shows up the next morning, AFTER the fact, "doing his job." This is appalling. There should be accountability from Tisbury to accrue some of these costs due to the unavailability of the harbor master's lack of response to the call. A lot of the possible environmental damage would have been avoided by answering their phone. Shame on them.
After years of concern, as a
Peter Becker Port Angeles,WAAfter years of concern, as a WA shellfish grower, we got HAZMAT training and qualified as first responders with booms in strategic places as well as portable rigs. #2 Diesel is classified as a carcinogen. Without HAZMAT certification you are not allowed to handle it! It is easy to get the training and maintain it. Federal funds for oil absorbant booms etc. are available. Fishermen live on the water, have boats and local knowledge to deploy systems in a timely manner... Might look into it!
Sad to see this accident but
Bob EdgartownSad to see this accident but it sure does make for a nice looking picture.
This is the beauty of a local
Stephen East ChopThis is the beauty of a local newspaper and why it's so important we continue to support the Vineyard Gazette. But for the Gazette how would we know what's happening on the island and be informed of matters such as this?
There are a few areas where I hope the Gazette follows up.
First, we need to understand the magnitude of the spill. What is the expected damage to marine and land wildlife, plants etc? Is this 100% remediable - that is can this truly be fixed and what are the short and long term consequences? And finally, what is the cost to fix this (to the extent it can be)?
Second, the Gazette needs to dig into how this happened and the local authorities' response. The posts by Coverup, Concerned and Alison House are illuminating and if true very troubling. Can the Gazette dig into this? Are responses by local authorities this tardy, disorganized and ill prepared? As mentioned in Peter Becker's post, spills are not unexpected (most unfortunately) and local authorities should be able to respond quickly, efficiently.
Finally, it would be great to understand where the law is on this and what will the boat owner or responsible parties suffer as a result of their carelessness and gross negligence (how can you leave a boat with hazardous materials sinking for hours)? Will the taxpayers end up footing the bill - will the responsible parties bear the costs? Will there be punitive damages, seizure of their boat or jail time for their recklessness and damage to our most vital resource - the natural beauty and wildlife of the island?
It would be great if the Gazette can follow up and let us know what the deal is.
Who are you calling reckless?
JJ OBWho are you calling reckless? I'm a boat owner and can tell you no responsible owner would not let their boat sink for hours or minutes if they could prevent it. I believe Mr. Barry stated “I’m looking at my lifesavings sitting there.” I'm sure he wasn't aware of the sinking until it was unfortunately too late. Blame the officials for not responding quickly. It seems logical to think if any vessel, vehicle or machinery were to sink as a safe bet you should deploy an oil boom. Must have been more important for the officials to have coffee at a local shop instead of doing their job.
^ you are correct that mr.
MIKEY EDG.^ you are correct that mr. barry had no idea ,I was the one who got the call at work late morning ,and went immediately to notify him of the situation ,he then rushed right away to the scene to get done what he could
What the boat owner did and
Stephen East ChopWhat the boat owner did and did not do has to be looked into. Certainly a sinking boat on its face would indicate negligence, gross negligence or recklessness but perhaps that's not the case and the boat sinking was somewhat akin to an act of god. Clearly, someone - e.g. the local authorities - needs to look into it and determine what caused the boat to sink.
It's par for the course with
MV Commenter Martha's VineyardIt's par for the course with Tisbury. While the fire department did diligent work, it's the harbormasters department that continuously falls flat on their face time after time. What's the main difference in these two organizations? Leadership. None is existent along the Harbor and that has been evident for years. The selectman have never controlled this department and continue to let incompetence rule the day with the harbormaster. This is just one more in a long list of missteps.
How did the boat sink?
GregHow did the boat sink?
Yes - that's the #1 question.
Stephen East ChopYes - that's the #1 question. How did the boat sink?
Can the Vineyard Gazette find out? It would be great to get a follow up to the initial story. Others too have posted that there are longstanding issues with response, harbormaster etc. It would be great to find out what the story is there as well.
Again, the damage caused by
Best Available Technology North AmericaAgain, the damage caused by even a small amount of diesel is evident. There are better fuels that will not harm the ocean and and air during a soil. The use of methanol (2-stroke) and dimethyl either a.k.a DME in four stroke engines provide a superior alternative to all diesel or MGO. Check out the success of the Stena Germanica in Europe running on pure methanol. That's the ferry system the Vineyard needs.
Add new comment