Galveston Bay Oil Spill: Just a Little Topping-Off Accident

GALVESTON BAY OIL SPILL: JUST A LITTLE TOPPING-OFF ACCIDENT According to the Coast Guard, the three-quarter-mile-long oil slick that made a few residents of San Leon feel a bit queasy, then washed up on the rocks at April Fool Point a week ago came from a spill caused by a Liberian-flag oil tanker — almost a week and a half earlier. The Omega Emmanuel reported a 50-gallon spill on February 8th as it was docked off Bolivar and taking on fuel from a barge. But the Coast Guard only tied the fuel oil to the tanker after environmental testing was completed this past Wednesday. “The cleanup ‘is complicated because the oil is embedded in the rocks,’ [Coast Guard petty officer Prentice] Danner said. ‘It takes slushing (agitation) to get it out, so I can’t speculate on how long it will take.'” Is that the same goo off the coast of Bacliff too? [Ultimate Clear Lake; previously on Swamplot]

5 Comment

  • So where was the containment response a week and a half ago when the spill was originally reported???

  • “Fifty gallons”

    Give or take a couple thousand, maybe.

  • Give or take a couple thousand, maybe.

    50 gallons at several millimeters thick can spread out over a large area.

  • A little oil on some rocks made some residents feel queasy? I’m guessing they stay off the roads because there’s probably more oil on the roads that drips from old cars.

  • From Lost_In_Translation:
    “50 gallons at several millimeters thick can spread out over a large area.”
    ===================
    But I bet this is calculated, not measured. The USCG spill calculator is notorious for underestimating spill volumes. I think many in the oil industry would even agree.