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Workers remove diesel from leaking boat
Published November 3, 2009
BRAZORIA — U.S. Coast Guard officials say removal of 3,500 gallons of diesel and lubricants from a derelict vessel on the San Bernard River has gone well and is expected to conclude by week’s end.
No marine or wildlife have been harmed because of the cleanup, nor has recreational boating been affected, officials said.
Crews have been using a large-volume vacuum truck to pull hydrocarbons from the vessel’s fuel tanks, which are on the side of the ship’s hull, and absorbency pads to soak up any hydrocarbons that have reached the water, said Coast Guard Lt. Comm. Keith Pierre, chief of emergency response.
Absorbency pads are being changed out almost daily, he said.
“Right now, we are entering what we call the maintenance phase, where we leave some absorbent pads out there and keep the vessel boomed off,” Pierre said. “So any residual leaks from the vessel, those pads will pick it up.”
Authorities responded to the diesel fuel leak mid-morning Oct. 24, when boaters cruising on the river noticed a thin, dark sheen developing on the water’s surface, Brazoria County Environmental Crimes Investigator Jeff Mink said.
Residents also had noticed a strong diesel smell that weekend, said Jan Edwards of Friends of the River San Bernard.
“The first couple of days, it was horrible,” she said. “Our house is around the bend from it, and the diesel was so strong, we couldn’t even walk outside.”
The 72-foot shrimping vessel, the “Holly Angelina,” had been sitting on the river bottom for at least four years and might have begun leaking diesel fuel when saltwater corroded one of the fuel tanks, causing a crack, Mink said.
“Any kind of vessel with metal fuel tanks that sits in the water sunk, there’s going to be some corrosion,” Mink said. “Any shifting of the vessel could cause that to go ahead a break and start leaking out.”
Mink did not know what first caused the vessel to sink.
County officials have been attempting to contact the person listed as the vessel’s owner, but declined to release information because it is possible that person is not the current owner, Mink said.
The boat showed an original registration from Apalachicola, Florida, and a newer registration from Galveston Island, said Roy Edwards, another Friends of the River San Bernard founder.
“It’s an eyesore, it’s a potential environmental hazard and we can’t figure out who owns it,” he said.
Anyone with knowledge about the ownership of the Holly Angelina can call the Brazoria County Environmental Health Deptartment at 979-964-1600 or the Texas General Land Office at 1-800-998-4GLO.
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