The US Coast Guard buoy tender spilled an unknown quantity of hydraulic oil into the water at Womens Bay at Alaska and proceeded to the cleanup operations.
Specifically, on Saturday December 26, the USCG SPAR spilled hydraulic oil into the water; Although the challenge was the unknown quantity of the oil spilled, the Coast Guard reported that the maximum capacity of SPAR was about 900 gallons.
Following, Coast Guard Sector Anchorage Incident Management Division and Marine Safety Detachment (MSD) Kodiak personnel are monitoring the cleanup which has been contracted to Choctaw Defense Services (CDS). Personnel on scene deployed boom systems, absorbent pads, and a skimmer that is pumping to a vac truck.
It is noted that the source of the discharge has been secured, but the cause of the oil release remains under investigation.
Referring to the incident, PO2 Joshua Thorne, a pollution responder from Marine Safety Detachment Kodiak, commented that
Our primary focus is on mitigating potential impacts to the environment.