Hylebos oil spill happened during fuel transfer

TACOMA -- About 435 gallons of diesel oil was released into the Hylebos Waterway during an unattended transfer of fuel between tanks on a fishing vessel, state and federal officials said Wednesday.

An oil skimmer was dispatched, additional oil booms were deployed and crews from National Response Corp., a cleanup contractor, worked Tuesday and Wednesday to recover oil that spilled at Pier 25 from the 166-foot Bowfin, a tender built in 1944 and owned by Trident Seafoods Corp. of Seattle, Coast Guard Petty Officer Shannon Rubio said.

Oil booms had been placed on three sides of the boat before the spill Monday night as a precaution, but there were no booms on the dock side because of construction on the pier, Rubio said.

There were no immediate reports of damage or contaminated marine life, but a flight over the area found some diesel sheen northwest of Pier 25, and a protective boom was placed around a sensitive habitat in the waterway, the release said.

Cleanup crews were unable to get beneath the dock to clean up fuel there because of the narrow space between the waterline and the dock bottom. Instead, contractors lowered absorbent pads through construction openings in the dock to soak up the fuel.

The spill occurred as diesel fuel was being pumped from a reserve tank, known as a settling tank, into the regular day tank of the vessel to prepare for firing up the engine, Trident corporate counsel Bob Nelson said.

No one was monitoring the fuel transfer, a violation of company policy.