New Carissa mucked up oyster beds for growers

COOS BAY, Ore. -- An apparent loophole in a federally mandated cleanup plan that failed to take into account about 2,000 acres of oyster beds has left oyster growers very unhappy with the way the removal of the New Carissa was handled.

The $3.7-million-a-year oyster business was all but suspended last winter after the empty freighter ran aground with nothing but its engine fuel on board, leaking an estimated 70,000 gallons of heavy bunker oil.

The state ordered oyster beds closed as a health precaution, temporarily shutting down the area that produces a large share of the 5 million pounds of oysters harvested in Oregon each year, according to the Pacific Coast Oyster Growers Association.

Despite having received an undisclosed settlement from the ship's insurer to cover his losses and his workers' lost wages, Larry Qualman says customers asked for months whether his oysters were safe to eat -- even though they are.

But he's more concerned that he's still paying off what he'd borrowed with high-interest credit cards while he was out of business for 21 days during the cleanup. "I'm not happy," said Qualman, head of Qualman Oysters in Charleston.

Jerry Hampel, who owns North Bend Oyster Co., also was among those who settled their losses with the ship's insurance company for undisclosed amounts.

He and Qualman signed forms releasing the company from liability. Hampel said his check won't cover his losses, but he's set to move on.

But Melinda Merrill, a spokeswoman for the ship's insurer, said there's "absolutely no scientific evidence to suggest there's a connection between the die-off and the oil."

She said a scientist hired by the ship's insurer and an independent scientist requested by the oyster growers have found oysters alive where there was oil and dead where there was no oil.

Lilli and Max Clausen, who have run the Clausen Oyster Co. since 1981, have rejected the insurer's settlement offer. They've hired an attorney and are prepared to fight.

"Now that we're bringing in the oysters, we're finding our loss runs between 50 and 60 percent," Lilli Clausen said.

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