Another boat sank into the Hoquiam River. It happened Christmas morning, polluting the water and creating an oily sheen over the river due to fluid from the boat. This is the seventh vessel to sink at the boatyard just north of Al’s Hum Dinger restaurant, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology.
Just after 9 a.m. Dec. 25, a citizen reported there was a sheen of fuel on the Hoquiam River, originating from a privately owned boatyard in the 200 Block of Monroe Street, Hoquiam Police Chief Jeff Myers said in a release.
Upon arrival by the Hoquiam Police and Fire departments, responders noticed a strong odor of fuel and the sheen of a petroleum product on the river heading downstream toward the Riverside Bridge.
Debris was floating adjacent to the boatyard with mooring lines leading to a vessel completely submerged and not visible in the river.
The boat had a 30-foot fiberglass hull, and oil pollution extended about 500 yards upstream and 500 yards downstream from the site, said Department of Ecology communications manager Sandy Howard. The department estimates between 10 and 15 gallons of oil was spilled.
A person staying at the boatyard indicated that an old Navy patrol vessel was moored at the boatyard and might have been damaged by a piling during the recent high storm tides, Myers said. The boat had been moved and secured with additional floats, but at 1:40 a.m., the witness heard the sound of rushing water and found the boat tilting.
The boat sank into the river with fuel or engine oil escaping into the water, but no one notified the Coast Guard or called 911 to report it at the time.
The owner of the boatyard was not present upon arrival of police and fire units, Myers said.
The state Department of Ecology’s spill response team was sent and assisted with cleaning up the leaking oil. With help from people associated with the private marina, the department deployed floating absorbents around the sunken boat to collect floating oil and any more that’s released, Howard said.
The city of Hoquiam has issued numerous code violations and has worked closely with the Department of Ecology, the state Office of Attorney General and the U.S. Coast Guard regarding the sunken vessels at the site and the concern over ongoing pollution of the river.
On Dec. 26, the oily sheen could be seen at many spots along the river’s shoreline near the boatyard.
To reach Louis Krauss, reporter for Grays Harbor News Group, send an email to lkrauss@soundpublishing.com or call 360-537-3926.
(Louis Krauss | Grays Harbor News Group) The Washington State Department of Ecology responded to a boat that sank on the Hoquiam River on Christmas morning and leaked oil.
