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Coast Guard Responds to Fuel Oil Spill at Puma Energy Fuel Dock in San Juan Harbor, Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Coast Guard Incident Management pollution responders from Sector San Juan are responding to and investigating a No. 3 fuel oil spill at the Puma Energy fuel dock facility in San Juan Harbor, Puerto Rico, Thursday.

Coast Guard Incident Management pollution responders from Sector San Juan are responding to and investigating a No. 3 fuel oil spill at the Puma Energy fuel dock facility in San Juan Harbor, Puerto Rico, Thursday.

The source of the oil discharge has been secured and most of the material is contained within the Puma Energy fuel dock area. Approximately, 1,000 gallons are estimated to have spilled into the water.

At approximately 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector San Juan received a report from the National Response Center reporting the incident which occurred during a fuel transfer from the Marshall Islands flagged Motor/Tanker Dubai Green to the facility.

During the transfer, ship crew and facility personnel reportedly noticed a sheen in the water, approximately 100 meters long and four meters wide, and stopped transfer operations to investigate.  Coast Guard Incident Management Division personnel also arrived on-scene to investigate.

Puma Energy hired the Marine Spill Response Corporation as the Oil Spill Removal Organization that will be leading clean-up efforts for the incident.  MSRC subcontracted All Environmental Services, Inc. to assist with clean-up and oil recovery efforts.

Clean-up response crews deployed approximately 1,000 feet of boom to contain the fuel in the water within the Puma Energy dock facility and the impacted shoreline.  In the following days, efforts will take place to recover the fuel from the water and identify any pockets of material in the harbor that may have escaped the containment area.

The Coast Guard Federal On-Scene Coordinator for the incident along with Coast Guard Incident Management Division personnel will oversee clean-up efforts until completed. Coast Guard pollution responders are coordinating with the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, among other entities, and monitoring for any signs of affected wildlife in the area.

The Coast Guard is advising the public and local fishermen in the area to stay away from the incident site, to not touch any fuel material and to not conduct any fishing or activities in the vicinity until clean-up operations are completed.

“We are investigating and overseeing clean-up efforts to ensure the right resources are brought into this response to remove this pollution threat and mitigate the marine environmental impacts in the affected area as best as possible,” said Chief Warrant Officer Jamie Testa, Coast Guard Federal On-Scene Coordinator for the incident. “This incident highlights the importance of fuel facilities and vessels having updated response plans in place and that those plans are exercised frequently to ensure the quickest and most efficient response possible, and to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.”