Pipe Blamed for Oil Spill (Philadelphia/New Jersey - Delaware River - 12/7/04)
December 7, 2004 — A big, rusty pipe resting on the bottom of the Delaware River in an area that the government is supposed to keep free of obstructions apparently caused the gash in the tanker ship that spilled tens of thousands of gallons of thick crude oil last week, Coast Guard officials said Tuesday.
Extensive sonar tests turned up something suspicious on the river bed over the weekend, and divers on Sunday found the 15-foot, U-shaped pipe, half-buried in mud. Investigators found fresh gouges on it, and paint scrapings that matched samples taken from the ship's hull.
The pipe, believed to be made of cast iron, protruded about three feet from the river bottom and was found about 700 feet from the Citgo Petroleum Corp. refinery in Paulsboro, N.J. The Athos I was heading there when it listed to one side and began gushing oil after an uneventful, weeklong trip from Venezuela.
The Nov. 26 spill killed wildlife, disrupted shipping, and spread oil along 70 miles of the waterway that separates New Jersey from Pennsylvania and Delaware. The cleanup is expected to cost millions of dollars and take many months.
Coast Guard Capt. John Sarubbi said Tuesday that investigators don't know what the pipe is, where it came from, or how long it had been on the river bottom. He said the pipe measured three-feet by four-feet wide and had two broken brackets on it, as if it had been torn from its original location.
"We need to get the pipe up and do some further examination," he said.
The U.S. Attorney in Newark, N.J., has opened an investigation into whether someone could be held criminally responsible for the spill, Sarubbi said.
The single-hull tanker was being pushed by tugboats toward the refinery when the pipe tore two gashes in its hull, authorities said. One of the rips was six feet long.
An undetermined amount of oil was released. Some 473,000 gallons of crude are unaccounted for, although investigators believe much of it may still be in compartments inside the ship.
The pipe was found in the Mantua Creek anchorage, a federally controlled area that is supposed to accommodate ships with drafts of up to 40 feet. The Athos I had a draft of 36½ feet, officials said.
Many vessels have passed over the same spot in recent months without striking the pipe. Authorities said they don't know why the Athos I hit it, while others missed, but stressed that the ship was being handled properly when the accident occurred. The Army Corps of Engineers, which is responsible for keeping the area free of silt and dangerous objects, surveys the anchorage twice a year to make sure the water is deep enough. The last survey, concluded in June, found no sign of the pipe, said Corps spokesman Merv Brokke.......
A big, rusty pipe? Ooookkkkkaay.
oh golly gee why didn't we think of dat?
Thanks for the update on the oil spill. Originally they supposedly combed the entire area and found nothing. Suddenly a rusty old pipe turns up.