THE Unified Command, consisting state and federal agencies and set up to coordinate the cleanup of the oil spill from Hapag-Lloyd's box ship Dublin Express, said up to 100,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil were released from the vessel during its transit along the East Coast to New York in late March.
It said about 35,000 gallons of oily water had been recovered in the Arthur Kill Waterway, where the spill was first reported occurring near the Goethal Bridge to the Coast Guard Sector New York on March 31. The fuel escaped from a 15-square-inch opening found in the hull of the 4,120-TEU containership during unloading operations at Staten Island's Global Marine New York Terminal. The hole was sealed the same evening, Hapag-Lloyd said.
Cleanup efforts will continue until all impacted areas of the waterway are fully restored, reports American Shipper.
Members of the Unified Command Shoreline Cleanup and Assessment Technique teams located on March 31 a 400-yard-by-2-foot band of tar balls at Jacob Riis Park in Queens.
The US Coast Guard Marine Safety Laboratory completed fingerprints on the tar balls and verified the recovered oil matched the Dublin Express as the source, the Unified Command said. Four oiled birds also had been located.
'This multiagency response moved quickly and effectively to ensure the public and the environment are protected,' said New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) commissioner Basil Seggos in a statement.
'We will continue to monitor the coast and encourage anyone who observes any potential oil products from this spill to contact the command centre immediately to assist in our investigation.'
The Dublin Express, which was sailing from Port Everglades to New York, has been cleared by the Coast Guard to depart from the New York Container Terminal following the completion of repairs and cleaning of the vessel.
WORLD SHIPPING
It said about 35,000 gallons of oily water had been recovered in the Arthur Kill Waterway, where the spill was first reported occurring near the Goethal Bridge to the Coast Guard Sector New York on March 31. The fuel escaped from a 15-square-inch opening found in the hull of the 4,120-TEU containership during unloading operations at Staten Island's Global Marine New York Terminal. The hole was sealed the same evening, Hapag-Lloyd said.
Cleanup efforts will continue until all impacted areas of the waterway are fully restored, reports American Shipper.
Members of the Unified Command Shoreline Cleanup and Assessment Technique teams located on March 31 a 400-yard-by-2-foot band of tar balls at Jacob Riis Park in Queens.
The US Coast Guard Marine Safety Laboratory completed fingerprints on the tar balls and verified the recovered oil matched the Dublin Express as the source, the Unified Command said. Four oiled birds also had been located.
'This multiagency response moved quickly and effectively to ensure the public and the environment are protected,' said New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) commissioner Basil Seggos in a statement.
'We will continue to monitor the coast and encourage anyone who observes any potential oil products from this spill to contact the command centre immediately to assist in our investigation.'
The Dublin Express, which was sailing from Port Everglades to New York, has been cleared by the Coast Guard to depart from the New York Container Terminal following the completion of repairs and cleaning of the vessel.
WORLD SHIPPING