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Diesel Oil Spilled in Gulfport, Miss., Harbor

Posted on: Friday, 12 August 2005, 18:00 CDT

Aug. 11--GULFPORT -- About 1,500 gallons of thick, black diesel oil spilled into the water at the southern end of Gulfport Harbor's West Pier on Wednesday morning. The refueling accident involved an outbound, chicken-parts cargo ship from Holland, said Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Emergency Responder Earl Ethridge.

The Mystic, captained by Ginaldy Dychov, somehow got fuel into its bilge, which is a hollow section at the bottom of large ships designed to regulate buoyancy, Ethridge said. A bilge normally pumps liquid out, and it was only after the fuel was seen floating in the water at about 9 a.m. did the crew realize there was a problem, Ethridge said.

Although the environmental impact outside the port was minor, the spill had spread over 2,000 feet of the pier's eastern and southern sides by mid-afternoon, affecting the ships docked nearby and possibly many of the area's aquatic animals, Ethridge said.

"Fortunately, the wind shoved it up under the pier," he said, adding that the sun was burning some of the fuel off the surface of the water.

Ethridge estimated about 75 percent of the spill would be removed. Pointing to the mullet breaking the water's surface near the edge of the spill, he expressed concern about them and similar fish getting mouthfuls of oil when feeding near the surface. In addition, the fuel will start sinking after about 20 hours, exposing bottom-feeders to the dangers of ingesting the oil.

The port's authorities called United States Environmental Services, a New Orleans company that specializes in cleaning up oil spills in water, shortly after being alerted to the spill, said Port Director Don Allee.

The Mystic's American sponsor, Maritime Endeavors, will be responsible for covering the cost of the cleanup, which involved about a dozen men, several trucks, a few boats and several specialized pieces of machinery and netting, Allee said.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.

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Source: The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.)

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