Incident News

On April 1, 2022, an unknown amount of crude oil from a well discharge into a marsh area on High Island was reported. OSROs responded. On April 6, 2022, MSU Port Arthur contacted NOAA SSC for input on methods to address oil remaining in vegetation. Phone support provided, no further products requested.

On the morning of 06-APR-2022, NMFS Stranding Coordinator in CA contacted the NOAA SSC regarding a 40-foot-long gray whale carcass in San Francisco Bay, CA. NMFS requested a carcass drift estimate to aid in determining how far offshore to tow the carcass so it does not re-beach in the upcoming days.

On April 5th, 2022, the USCG notified the Great Lakes SSC of a fishing vessel that sank at the pier in Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan. The maximum potential release is an estimated 400 gallons of marine diesel. No request for NOAA products at this time.

At 8:00 am on 31 March 2022, USCG Sector Virginia notified the NOAA SSC that a NAVY Hawkeye plane crashed just north of Chincoteague Island in a marsh at approximately 7:30 pm on Wednesday 30 March. One crew member died, and two were rescued. The aircraft had 1,650 gals of JP-5 on board at the time of the incident. Navy and Sector Virginia response teams enroute. Sector Virginia requested resources at risk and trajectory.

In the early morning hours of 29-MAR-2022, USCG Sector San Francisco contacted their NOAA SSC regarding a NESDIS Marine Pollution Surveillance Report (MPSR) that was issued at 2319 hrs on 28-MAR-2022. The center of the long, narrow anomaly was located roughly 78 nm NW of San Francisco with the portions closest to shore being roughly 18 nm NW of Point Reyes. USCG intends to deploy a first light overflight on the morning of 29-MAR and requested an estimated search area based on likely drift.

On March 24, 2022, the NOAA Great Lakes SSC was notified of a tug boat "Lake Superior" that sank at its pier in Duluth, MN. The tug boat has an estimated 7500 gallons of mixed oil, a contracted company has been hired to remove pollution. No request for NOAA products at this time. The location is approximate.

On the evening of 22-MAR-2022, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary staff contacted their SSC regarding a sailing vessel that had sunk off Santa Cruz, CA the prior evening. The last known position was roughly one mile south of Terrace Point. No fuel is expected on board, so the Sanctuary requested a drift estimate of the S/V as it sunk to assist the owner in relocating & removing it.

At approximately 0400 on 21-Mar02922, the tug vessel Western Mariner lost power in Neva Straits, north of Sitka Sound, and was forced aground via contact from its tow barge Chichagos Provider. The Western Mariner has a total capacity for 45000 gallons of diesel. It is unknown how much fuel was onboard at the time of the grounding. The vessel is leaking diesel. MSD Sitka is requesting and trajectory and fates analysis for the leaking diesel.

On March 17, 2022, NOAA ERD was notified by Miller Environmental Group of a fuel transfer pipe casualty resulting in the release of #6 Fuel oil in the Oswego New York Harbor. The estimated release is 1200-1500 gallons. The spill was initially observed on March 8th, source is speculated to be from a transfer pipe between the power facility storage tanks and day tanks underground. The pipe has been compromised resulting in oil releasing through a storm drain into the harbor. The transfer pipe has been secured, the containment boom significantly reduced flow into Lake Ontario, the storm drain has been plugged.

On March 16, 2022, the Gulf of Mexico Marine Mammal Disaster Response Coordinator notified the NOAA SSC about a floating Humpback Whale carcass floating offshore of Carolina Beach, North Carolina. The Response Coordinator requested a trajectory to possibly determine the likelihood of this carcass coming ashore.

On 15 March 2022, USCG Sector Maryland NCR notified the NOAA SSC that at approximately 9:00pm on Sunday, 13 March the Ever Forward, a containership grounded off of Gibson Island in the Chesapeake Bay. The vessel has remained stranded since then. The ship is outside the main shipping channel. There is no damage, injuries or pollution at this time.

On March 14, 2022, USEPA Region 5 contacted the NOAA SSC regarding a 3,000 barrel oil pipeline discharge into the Cahokia Canal (trib to Miss River) near Edwardsville, IL on 11 MAR. USEPA requested spot forecast and any available information on forecasted water levels. NOAA SSC requested spot forecast from NWS St. Louis and provided links and synopsis of water gauges.