Navy says more than two-thirds of oil spilled in Port Townsend Bay has been recovered

Leader news staff
news@ptleader.com
Posted 6/4/21

Approximately 100 gallons of oil was spilled from the Navy destroyer USS Gridley after the ship left Naval Magazine Indian Island Thursday morning, the Navy announced late Friday.

Officials said …

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Navy says more than two-thirds of oil spilled in Port Townsend Bay has been recovered

Posted

Approximately 100 gallons of oil was spilled from the Navy destroyer USS Gridley after the ship left Naval Magazine Indian Island Thursday morning, the Navy announced late Friday.

Officials said Friday the clean-up effort had reached its end, and approximately 70 gallons of oil was recovered from the waters of Port Townsend Bay.

The remaining oil in the area dissipated, the Navy said.

The spill was discovered around 10:30 a.m. Thursday, and the Navy earlier estimated 20 gallons of oil had spilled from the warship.

“As soon we were aware of this spill, Indian Island’s emergency response personnel immediately sprang into action to contain it, assess the situation and begin clean-up efforts,” said Naval Magazine Indian Island Commanding Officer Cmdr. Donald Emerson. 

“The Navy is committed to being a good steward of the environment," Emerson added. "We routinely practice our emergency response techniques for a variety of incidents, to include oil spills, to ensure that when a real-world incident occurs, we can take immediate action and minimize any potential impacts to the environment.”  

The cleanup and containment effort included the deployment of 200 feet of oil spill containment boom.

The spill was contained by 1 p.m. Thursday, and oil recovery efforts continued until 5:30 p.m. Thursday before being restarted Friday morning.

The cleanup effort ended about 10 a.m. June 4.

The Navy is still investigating the cause of the spill.  

Navy officials said the spill will have a minimal impact to the local environment, including Port Townsend Bay’s shorelines and nearshore habitat. 

The spill happened just beyond the installation’s port security barrier in open water, during a slack tide with a very light breeze. 

Officials said the weather and ocean conditions were optimal and supported the Navy’s response efforts to effectively contain the spill and clean it up.

The Coast Guard and the Washington state Department of Ecology were notified about the incident Thursday.