Divers find 6-foot gash in tanker that caused Delaware River oil spill
The U.S. Coast Guard said Monday that divers found a six-foot rip in the double hull of the Greek-owned, Cyprus-registered tanker “Athos I” that spilled 30,000 gallons of crude oil last Friday night into the Delaware River.
The Army Corps of Engineers has completed an underwater survey to determine what might have caused the tear, but no explanation has been officially released. Unofficial reports said the ship apparently struck an uncharted submerged object in the 40-foot-deep shipping channel.
Two tugboats were assisting the 750-foot tanker in reaching a dock in West Deptford Township when a tug master spotted the leak, which lasted for an hour.
By Monday, oil sludge had spread for 20 miles along the Delaware River, from Tinicum Island to the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge. That stretch of the river remained closed to traffic, which has kept about 20 large ships from entering or leaving the Port of Philadelphia.
The cargo tank that was ripped open was in front of the engine room on the port (left) side near the rear of the ship, said Jim O'Brien, owner of The O'Brien Group, a spill-management company hired by Tsakos Shipping & Trading SA, the vessel's owner.
“There's a six-and-one-half-foot by one-and-one-half-foot rip in the bottom from either hitting the river bottom or bumping something,” O'Brien told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Obviously, the vessel struck something.”
A strong wind Sunday kept much of the spill along the shoreline, where rescuers found 300 injured and 50 dead birds, said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. By Monday, only 20 of the injured birds were still alive. The deceased included Canada geese, great blue herons, double-crested cormorants, and different varieties of ducks.
The “Athos I” was carrying 325,000 barrels of oil from Venezuela to an asphalt refinery owned by Citgo Petroleum Corp.
Divers find 6-foot gash in tanker that caused Delaware River oil spill
