Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 3, 1990 TAG: 9007030356
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium
"If oil sinks to the bottom, it would kill or cover the crab larvae or eggs that are hatching," said Joe Maroon, president of Virginia's chapter of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. "The entire crab population could be affected because this is in close proximity to the prime crab nursery area of the bay."
U.S. Coast Guard officials and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration scientists said later in the day, however, that the danger appeared to have passed for the bay fisheries.
Two container vessels collided Sunday off the Thimble Shoals lighthouse, about three miles from Old Point Comfort, according to the Coast Guard.
The outbound Columbus America suffered extensive damage; the inbound Neptune Jade received minimal damage, according to Capt. Eugene Johnson, commander of the Marine Safety Office in Norfolk.
Larry McBride, Tidewater regional director of the state Water Control Board, said the spill was one of the largest in the bay since the early 1970s.
The Columbus America had a hole below its water line and its captain chose to return to port. As the ship returned, about 30,000 gallons of No. 4 heavy fuel oil gushed from the ship's ruptured fuel tank.
By the time the ship reached the Norshipco shipyard on the southern branch of the Elizabeth River, the oil had spread from the Thimble Shoals area to the yard. Johnson ordered the main shipping channel into Norfolk closed for about four hours as work crews from the Coast Guard, Navy, water board and a private contractor worked to clean the channel.
The ship was still leaking oil Monday afternoon but the oil was being contained by booms and being recovered by a vacuum truck, said Johnson.
By Monday afternoon, the Coast Guard said most of the oil was concentrated in the southern and eastern branches of the Elizabeth River and in the bay off the Oceanview section of Norfolk. Two miles of beaches in the Oceanview area were expected to be affected by the oil, according to the Coast Guard.
"We consider this a major marine casualty because of the damage done and the amount of oil spilled," said Coast Guard Cmdr. George Naccara.
An aerial survey of the bay area late Monday afternoon showed oil in the surf along a two-mile section of the beachfront. Work crews had collected about 50 bags of oily debris by mid-afternoon, Johnson said.
"I think the environmental damage will be minimal," Johnson said.
In the river, the picture was somewhat different.
"We're covered in oil right now," said Gordon Shelton of the Tidewater Yacht Services marina in Portsmouth. "I want to know who . . . is supposed to clean it up."
Shelton said the oil contaminated the 200 boats in the marina on the Elizabeth River, fouled his beach and covered the 20 or so ducks that live at the marina.
Stanley Stein, acting director of the city's Department of Parks and Recreation, said about 40 city workers had been out on the beach since dawn.
The beaches involved are about 20 miles from the region's main resort area in Virginia Beach.
It was the second narrow escape from an oil spill for Virginia Beach in the past week. Last Friday, an oil spill in the ocean dissipated before reaching shore.
by CNB