
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 24, 1994                   TAG: 9403240203
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                                LENGTH: Short

TANKER OIL SPILL CLEANUP CONTINUES

Cleanup crews continued work Wednesday to remove fuel oil that spilled into the southern branch of the Elizabeth River when a liquid natural gas tanker sprang a leak.

The crews had recovered about 3,400 gallons of an oil/water mixture by Wednesday afternoon. Authorities still are not sure how much fuel spilled Tuesday from a 12-inch crack in the British-registered tanker Isomeria, the Coast Guard said.

The spill originally was estimated at 12,000 gallons but is much smaller, the Coast Guard said.

Most of the dark, thick oil that gushed from a fuel tank on the ship was contained by booms, but some spread downstream beyond the mostly industrial area where the spill occurred. The leak happened after the ship had unloaded its cargo.

No damage has been reported to wildlife, the Coast Guard said.

- Associated Press

by CNB