Public Affairs Detachment New York U.S. Coast Guard

Press Release

Date: Dec. 3, 2004 Contact: (212) 668-7114

TANKER SHIP RUNS AGROUND IN EAST ROCKAWAY INLET   JONES BEACH, LONG ISLAND, N.Y.--The U.S. Coast Guard monitored a tanker ship carrying about 755,000 gallons of #2 home heating oil that ran aground in East Rockaway Inlet, N.Y., 11:30 a.m. today.  Coast Guard pollution response officers reported that the ship suffered no apparent hull breach and there was no oil product in the water.   Plans called for Poling and Cutler Marine, operators of the 281-foot coastal tank ship Kristin Poling, to lighter the tank ship and use tugs to pull it off the sandy bottom at high tide.   Poling and Cutler Marine notified the Coast Guard Group in Moriches, N.Y., that the tanker ran aground in East Rockaway Inlet on a sandy bottom about 450 yards offshore at 11:30 a.m. today.   Though the single-hulled tank ship suffered no hull breach and the ship is on a sandy bottom, Captain Peter Boynton, Coast Guard Captain of the Port for Long Island Sound, directed Poling and Cutler to ensure adequate pollution containment and recovery equipment can be deployed should worst-case discharge occur.   “The Coast Guard was prepared to utilize pollution response equipment to mitigate any potential short-term and long-term environmental impacts an oil discharge can cause to this sensitive area,” said Lt.j.g. Robert Bilbo, public affairs officer for Coast Guard Group/Marine Safety Office Long Island Sound.    Coast Guard officers monitored the situation from aboard the Kristin Poling and small boats from Coast Guard Station Jones Beach.  Nassau County (Long Island) Police helicopters have conducted over flights. The tanker was refloated at 12:45 a.m. Saturday and will transit to a safe berth to offload the remaining oil and be inspected for any potential damage to the hull due to the grounding.   The Kristin Poling was also carrying 10,000 gallons of bunker oil.   The sea state in East Rockaway Inlet is reported at 2-foot seas and 20-knot easterly winds when the Kristin Poling grounded.   The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the grounding.   # # #

printer friendly