Coast Guard completes oil spill cleanup in Colonial Beach

News Release

U.S. Coast Guard 5th District Mid-Atlantic Contact: 5th District Public Affairs Office: (757) 398-6272 After Hours: (757) 295-8435 5th District online newsroom

Coast Guard completes oil spill cleanup in Colonial Beach

COLONIAL BEACH, Va. — The Coast Guard concluded cleanup operations for an oil spill from a partially sunken vessel in Colonial Beach on Friday.

Cleanup efforts started after a vessel partially sank at a pier and began discharging oil from its fuel tanks late Sunday night. Early Monday morning, Coast Guard pollution responders from Sector Virginia responded to the scene and federalized the case to mitigate the threat of pollution from the environment.

An oil spill recovery organization was contracted and responded to the scene where they removed approximately 350 gallons of oily water mix from the vessel and 10 bags of oiled sorbent material.

Sorbent boom was placed around the vessel to mitigate any potential residual oil throughout several tidal cycles. After conducting on-site assessments where no oil was observed, pollution teams removed the sorbent boom on Friday.

Other Agencies Involved in the Response:

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
Virginia Department of Emergency Management
Virginia Marine Resources Commission
Westmoreland County Emergency Management
Colonial Beach Volunteer Fire Department

For any inquiries, please reach out to Sector Virginia at (757) 903-1842.

-USCG-