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On
November 26, 2004, tugboats were assisting the 750-foot
Cypriot-flagged oil tanker Athos I to maneuver to
its terminal at the CITGO asphalt refining facility
in West Deptford, New Jersey. One of the tugs noticed
oil in the water, and the tanker began listing.
The Athos I was spilling crude oil into the Delaware
River. Within a few hours, the incoming tide had
carried the thick oil about six miles north of the
incident site beyond the Walt Whitman Bridge. Ultimately,
more than 50 miles of river shoreline were impacted,
including U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service lands
at Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, and
the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum.
The amount of oil released was approximately 265,000
gallons, making the spill one of the worst on the
Delaware River in the past 30 years. Two gashes
in the tanker's hull-1-foot-by-2-foot and 1-foot-by-6-foot-later
were confirmed by Coast Guard divers.
The
U.S. Department of the Interior, represented by
the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, immediately
deployed personnel to the incident, ultimately dispatching
more than 80 personnel from the divisions of Law
Enforcement, Refuges, and Ecological Services. The
Service continues to provide technical support to
the Federal On-Scene Coordinator regarding the locations
of sensitive ecosystems, populations of waterfowl
and other migratory birds, and federally listed
species, including 5 pairs of bald eagles. The U.S.
Fish & Wildlife Service also provided scientific
input regarding the impacts of clean-up methods
to trust resources and oversaw and assisted in the
recovery of oiled wildlife. Thus far, more than
380 birds have been rehabilitated and released;
182 birds were dead on arrival or died after being
captured. An undetermined number of heavily oiled
birds are suspected to have drowned during the first
few days of the incident. The majority of the birds
impacted were waterfowl such as Canada geese, mallards,
black ducks, and several species of gulls.
U.S
Fish & Wildlife Service personnel continue to
play a part in the planning and implementation of
the spill clean-up which is anticipated to last
into the summer of 2005. The Department of the Interior,
led by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, is
also working cooperatively with the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, the State of New
Jersey, the State of Delaware, the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, and the owners of the Athos I on
assessing natural resource damages associated with
the spill.
A
deep-draft anchor, an 8-by-4-foot concrete slab,
and a 15-foot section of a centrifugal pump casing
were found in the tanker's path to the refining
terminal. The cause of the oil spill is still under
investigation.
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