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Mon 7 Apr 2008, 13:42 GMT

20,000 barrels of fuel oil removed from grounded barge


Emergency fuel oil transfer carried out as barge runs aground in Florida.

A barge carrying 119,000 barrels of fuel oil is free from a sandbar after it ran aground about three miles west of Egmont Key, Florida.

The 138-foot tug Yankee, owned by K-Sea Operating Partnership LP, was transporting a 441-foot barge from Houston to Tampa when it ran aground last week.

According to a spokesman of K-Sea Operating Partnership LP, 20,000 barrels of fuel oil was offloaded on Friday and lightened the barge enough that it was able to move away from the sandbar into deeper water under its own power.

Following a number of unsuccessful attempts to free the vessel from the sandbar, Bouchard Transportation Company of New York was enlisted to asist in the fuel oil transfer on Friday afternoon. The operation to remove appoximately one sixth of the fuel oil on board the vessel proved to be enough to allow the grounded barge to float higher in the water and away from the sandbar.

Divers were carrying out a thorough inspection of the hull on Friday to ensure that the vessel was fully intact. According to the US Coast Guard, no signs of leaking had been detected so far. The ocean bottom in the area where the barged grounded consists of sand and mud, and no environmental impact has been reported.

The barge is expected to remain at the anchorage site for 48 hours while the inspections to the hull are carried out. The barge will then be allowed to travel to Weedon Power Plant in st Petersburg if no damage to the hull is found.

Alcohol testing was performed on the Yankee crewmembers and drug testing is being conducted.

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