UPDATE: Unified Command continues response for diesel spill near Port Reading

News Release

U.S. Coast Guard 1st District PA Detachment New York Contact: Coast Guard PA Detachment New York Office: (212) 514-4291 After Hours: (917) 703-0983 PA Detachment New York online newsroom

UPDATE: Unified Command continues response for diesel spill near Port Reading

NEW YORK – The Unified Command at Port Reading, N.J., continues to respond to and clean up a diesel fuel oil spill that occurred Thursday night at the Buckeye Terminal.

 

The Marine Transportation System in the Port of New York and New Jersey was affected as the spill contaminated areas of the the Arthur Kill waterway, creating a domino effect leading to multiple vessels being diverted and two facilities impacted.  

 

The Unified Command are working quickly to re-establish the energy supply chain. One of the docks at Buckeye is now able to resume petroleum operations.

 

Numerous vessels as well a second fuel facility on the Arthur Kill have been decontaminated and have also resumed operations.

 

Though the Arthur Kill Waterway is not closed, Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) measures are in place, and any vessel that transits the waterway in the area is to go through with no wake.  

  

Multiple Oil Spill Removal Organizations have been contracted to clean up the oil, which includes placing boom around the affected facilities and sensitive areas, as well as deploying skimming vessels to recover product in the water. Shoreline cleanup assessment teams are in place assessing the impact to the local area. As of Sunday afternoon, an estimated 50,000 gallons of oily product has been recovered during clean-up operations.

 

The Unified Command continues to monitor recovery efforts to ensure safety of personnel, the protection of the environment, and the resiliency of our Marine Transportation System, especially in light of the impending storm in the next couple of days.

 

The Unified Command includes the following agencies:

• U.S. Coast Guard
• Buckeye Terminal
• New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection 
• New York State Department of Environmental Protection
• Environmental Protection Agency

The cause of the spill is under investigation. 

-USCG-