Sinking Fishing Boat Causes Diesel Spill Near Northwest Channel Jetty
At approximately 8:46 a.m. today [Tuesday Oct 2, 2018], Coast Guard Sector Key West received a report of the fishing vessel “San Diego” running aground on the Northwest Channel Jetty, 7 miles northwest of Key West.
Coast Guard Station Key West launched a 45-foot Response Boat which arrived on scene and transferred the crew of the “San Diego” to the Coast Guard vessel.
The hull of the “San Diego” was breached causing diesel fuel to spill into the ocean. A pollution response team from Coast Guard Sector Key West was on scene to help mitigate the situation. TowBoat US was contracted to clean up the spill.
The condition of the fishing vessel was evaluated by the federal on scene coordinator and marine inspectors from Sector Key West.
“Our primary concern here is the safety of the boating public, pollution responders, and contractors; all while protecting the environment,” said Lt. Quentin Long, Incident Management Division Chief of Sector Key West. “We are working under our Area Contingency Plan and coordinating efforts with federal, state, and trustee resources to assess and contain the discharge of oil as well as minimize the impact on environmentally sensitive ecosystems that we have here in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.”
The Florida Keys Area Contingency Plan (FKACP) is a response plan that facilitates a unified response among Federal, State, and local response agencies to effectively remove hazardous material, while minimizing environmental threats and protecting resources at risk within the Florida Keys.
The cause of the incident is currently under investigation.
