On Saturday March 4th at 12:48 pm the Pacific County Emergency Management Agency was notified that the research vessel Hero was sinking at its moorage on the Palix River near Bay Center. PCEMA Director Scott McDougall immediately contacted the Washington State Emergency Operations Officer and reported the sinking and asked that all appropriate notifications be made. Director McDougall discussed the issue with the Department of Ecology and the DOE stated that they would keep PCEMA informed. Subsequent to that discussion, at 1:59 p.m., the National Response Center issued a report that indicated that the vessel had been surrounded by a boom to contain any potential oil release and that there had been no release.
On Sunday, March 5th a second National Response Center report indicated that there was a sheen coming from the vessel. Department of Ecology and Coast Guard personnel responded to the scene. The report issued on Saturday was in error and no boom had been placed around the vessel. Department of Ecology and Coast Guard responders did determine at that time that it would not be practical or effective to place such a boom around the ship.
On Monday, March 6th Director McDougall, after visiting the scene, made contact with the Department of Ecology. The DOE is working with the Department of Natural Resources and with the US Coast Guard to develop a strategy to mitigate the situation. The Department of Ecology will be developing a webpage specifically devoted to this incident to allow the public to track its progress.
The vessel was last inspected by DOE in 2013 and at that time it was determined that there were 25 gallons of engine lubricating oil and 5 gallons of diesel on board the vessel. PCEMA will be publishing updates as they become available and will publish a link to the incident webpage as soon as it is operational.
On Sunday, March 5th a second National Response Center report indicated that there was a sheen coming from the vessel. Department of Ecology and Coast Guard personnel responded to the scene. The report issued on Saturday was in error and no boom had been placed around the vessel. Department of Ecology and Coast Guard responders did determine at that time that it would not be practical or effective to place such a boom around the ship.
On Monday, March 6th Director McDougall, after visiting the scene, made contact with the Department of Ecology. The DOE is working with the Department of Natural Resources and with the US Coast Guard to develop a strategy to mitigate the situation. The Department of Ecology will be developing a webpage specifically devoted to this incident to allow the public to track its progress.
The vessel was last inspected by DOE in 2013 and at that time it was determined that there were 25 gallons of engine lubricating oil and 5 gallons of diesel on board the vessel. PCEMA will be publishing updates as they become available and will publish a link to the incident webpage as soon as it is operational.
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