Fuel Spill Contained After Albacore Boat Runs Agroundff

Source: Oregon Live

The U.S. Coast Guard and an environmental cleanup company contained a small diesel spill Monday at the mouth of Yaquina Bay after a vessel ran aground at the start of a fishing trip.

A crew set a boom in the water to keep the fuel away from areas where shellfish and other marine life thrive.

“There’s no threat to the shellfish,” said Dawn Smith, a food safety expert for the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

The Two Mikes, a 48-foot vessel, contained about 2,000 gallons of diesel when it crashed into the north jetty about 11 p.m. Sunday. The two men onboard managed to scramble to safety on the jetty, but two dogs onboard died.

“The boat just started banging into the jetty,” said Shane Lague, the crew member. “We were right on the rocks.”

Lague jumped onto the jetty. The captain, Todd Holt, jumped off the boat but fell in the water. Lague said he pulled Holt to safety on the rocks.

A Coast Guard crew stationed at Yaquina Bay met them on the beach, where they were treated for minor injuries. The Red Cross helped the men with food and shelter, providing hotel rooms in Newport.

The boat is owned by Mike Shedore, 60, of Ilwaco, Wash., who bought it in 2010.

A sheen that appeared in the water after the boat crashed mostly dissipated during the day, said Lt. Cmdr. Kelly Thorkison, a spokeswoman for the Coast Guard. The boat is outside the channel, partially visible at low tide. The Coast Guard, working with NWFF Environmental to contain the spill, will survey the site Tuesday. When possible, divers will check the vessel.

“We’re working on a plan to assess the overall condition of the vessel and see what tanks look like,” Thorkison said.

The Coast Guard recovered two of three 55-gallon containers of diesel that were onboard, she said.

Xin Liu, manager of Oregon Oyster Farms, said he wasn’t concerned about contamination from the wreck. His company’s oyster beds, which span several acres, are about 10 miles from the jetty.

Earlier this month, the state closed Yaquina Bay to recreational mussel harvesting over a threat of paralytic shellfish poisoning. Food safety specialist Dawn Smith said the closure will stay in effect for a few more days as a precautionary measure.

The boat was due to pick up Freon in Newport for its refrigeration system and then head out to sea to catch a full load of tuna.

“We didn’t even go on our trip,” Lague said.