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Tug Deschutes suffers minor damage after mishap on Snake River

Release Date: 12/03/2007
Contact Information: Anthony Barber, EPA, (206) 553-2136, barber.anthony@epa.gov Tony Brown, EPA, (206) 553-1203, brown.anthony@epa.gov Jani Gilbert, Ecology, (509) 329-3495, jagi461@ecy.wa.gov

(Seattle, Wash. – Dec 3, 2007) - Emergency cleanup of the light sheen from the Tug Deschutes on the Snake River has been completed. The 87-foot tug Deschutes suffered damage to its thruster and hull during an incident on the Snake River near Ice Harbor Wash., yesterday.

The incident occurred about 8:40 a.m. while the vessel was pushing three barges down the Snake River, near Pasco. Reports from the scene indicated that high winds forced the tug to go hard aground, creating a 1/8 inch hole in its hull and causing a light sheen on the river near the vessel. There has been no reported harm to wildlife or the shoreline.

The Tug made temporary repairs and transferred 6,000 gals of diesel fuel into alternate tanks onboard. The U.S. Coast Guard has inspected and cleared the Tug for transit to Portland drydock for permanent repairs. Shoreline assessment was performed in the vicinity of the incident site with no impact or sheen observed.

Officials and representatives of the cooperative cleanup agencies, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Coast Guard, the Washington State Department of Ecology, and the Columbia Snake River Spill Response Consortium have demobilized and have left the site.