Feed aggregator

On March 23, 2026, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Marine Safety Unit (MSU) Port Arthur contacted the NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator (SSC) for Texas regarding an explosion that occurred that evening at the Valero Oil Refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. The USCG requested a plume model, which the SSC coordinated through the Interagency Modeling and Atmospheric Assessment Center (IMAAC). On the morning of March 24, the local emergency operations center and facilities representatives reported that the fire had been extinguished and the source secured and compartmentalized. MSU Port Arthur deployed responders in the vicinity of the facility to check the waterway and reported no observed petroleum products, chemicals, or fire foam. There have been no requests for updated modeling at this time.

On March 5, 2026, the F/V Yankee Rose overturned and sank approximately two miles off Provincetown, Massachusetts. U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Sector Southeastern New England contacted the NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator (SSC) on March 12, requesting a trajectory for a small diesel spill that seemed to be coming from the vessel. A verbal trajectory was provided and information about the fate of diesel spills in the marine environment. Due to concerns with marine mammals and whales potentially in the area, the SSC contacted NOAA Fisheries Service, which contacted and coordinated with the USCG. No further SSC assistance was requested.

On March 11, 2026, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Sector Northern New England contacted the NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator (SSC), requesting a trajectory for a commercial fishing vessel that sank off the coast of Maine. A verbal trajectory and information about diesel spills was shared. No further SSC assistance was requested.

On the morning of March 10, 2026, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Sector Delaware Bay notified the NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator (SSC) that they were responding to a scrap metal fire onboard a barge in tow. Cause is unknown at this time and there has been no reported pollution. Sector Delaware Bay has not requested any support from NOAA at this time.