Deep Sea Fire and Spill; Whidbey Island, Penn Cove, WA
NOAA initial notification: “May 12 through May 16, 2012 Washington State Department of Ecology, U.S. Coast Guard, Camano Island Fire & Rescue, and North Whidbey Fire and Rescue responded to a boat fire on the anchored 128-foot fishing vessel Deep Sea, located in Penn Cove off Whidbey Island, Saturday May […]”[1]
Latest included source report
Posted 5 Jun 2012
Latest source report
“The Deep Sea is now floating on its own. Yesterday it underwent inspections to determine its seaworthiness and to locate any remaining pockets of oil for removal. Currently the weather conditions are such that the vessel cannot be towed down to Stabbert Maritime Yacht & Ship dry dock in Seattle for dismantling. WA State Dept. of Ecology and Coast Guard Officials will decide […]” Current outcome is not independently verified by seahazards.[3]
NOAA report chronology
3 dated source records · 14 May 2012 to 5 Jun 2012NOAA incident record opened
Initial notification excerpt: “May 12 through May 16, 2012 Washington State Department of Ecology, U.S. Coast Guard, Camano Island Fire & Rescue, and North Whidbey Fire and Rescue responded to a boat fire on the anchored 128-foot fishing vessel Deep Sea, located in Penn Cove off Whidbey Island, Saturday May 12. The Coast Guard established a 500-yard safety zone and federal, state and local authorities allowed the vessel to burn due to concerns of the vessel sinking if firefighting activities continued. On Sunday, May 14, the Deep Sea unexpectedly sank with an unknown amount of diesel fuel on board. Oil skimming vessels placed oil containment boom around the area of the sunken vessel. The Coast Guard hired Ballard Diving […]”
NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track
Initial incident area only. Dates are NOAA postings, not a vessel track. Playback advances every 5 seconds.
Milestone 1 of 3: 14 May 2012. NOAA incident record opened. NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track
NOAA incident record opened
Initial notification excerpt: “May 12 through May 16, 2012 Washington State Department of Ecology, U.S. Coast Guard, Camano Island Fire & Rescue, and North Whidbey Fire and Rescue responded to a boat fire on the anchored 128-foot fishing vessel Deep Sea, located in Penn Cove off Whidbey Island, Saturday May 12. The Coast Guard established a 500-yard safety zone and federal, state and local authorities allowed the vessel to burn due to concerns of the vessel sinking if firefighting activities continued. On Sunday, May 14, the Deep Sea unexpectedly sank with an unknown amount of diesel fuel on board. Oil skimming vessels placed oil containment boom around the area of the sunken vessel. The Coast Guard hired Ballard Diving […]”
NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track (48.228°, -122.706°)
Operations update: Operations not to start until Sunday
Source report excerpt: “Washington State Department of Ecology Press Release COUPEVILLE, Wash. – Contractors plan to begin raising the sunken fishing vessel Deep Sea off the bottom of Penn Cove, near Coupeville on Whidbey Island no sooner than Sunday, June 3. Divers have been preparing the vessel since Friday and will continue to do so through this week. A multi-agency unified command is coordinating the recovery effort. The command comprises the U.S. Coast Guard, Washington departments of Ecology (Ecology) and Natural Resources (DNR), Island County Department of Emergency Management, Global Diving & Salvage Inc. (Global) and NRC-Environmental Services (NRC-ES). Divers for Global, working under a contract with […]”
Update June 5
Source report excerpt: “The Deep Sea is now floating on its own. Yesterday it underwent inspections to determine its seaworthiness and to locate any remaining pockets of oil for removal. Currently the weather conditions are such that the vessel cannot be towed down to Stabbert Maritime Yacht & Ship dry dock in Seattle for dismantling. WA State Dept. of Ecology and Coast Guard Officials will decide when weather will permit the vessel be towed. NOAA Seafood Inspection Program in Seattle is facilitating the sensory panel requested by WA Dept. of Health for fishery reopening. Results will be released to the correct authorities once cleared properly. It is not expected that there will be any more requests of the NOAA […]”
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Details in the record
- Source record
- NOAA IncidentNews 8446[1]
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Automatically assembled from NOAA's incident record and substantive Public Affairs or Situation Update posts. Dates are NOAA posting dates, which can differ from when events happened or original reports were published. Excerpts retain the source's wording and uncertainty. This account does not independently establish the cause, current outcome or safety of the area. NOAA coverage is selective; missing updates do not mean nothing happened. The map shows one approximate incident area, not a vessel track.
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NOAAORR-8446 NOAA response record
Deep Sea Fire and Spill; Whidbey Island, Penn Cove, WA. Whidbey Island, Penn Cove, WA. 1. May 12 through May 16, 2012 Washington State Department of Ecology, U.S. Coast Guard, Camano Island Fire & Rescue, and North Whidbey Fire and Rescue responded to a boat fire on the anchored 128-foot fishing vessel Deep Sea, located in Penn Cove off Whidbey Island, Saturday May 12. The Coast Guard established a 500-yard safety zone and federal, state and local authorities allowed the vessel to burn due to concerns of the vessel sinking if firefighting activities continued. On Sunday, May 14, the Deep Sea unexpectedly sank with an unknown amount of diesel fuel on board. Oil skimming vessels placed oil containment boom around the area of the sunken vessel. The Coast Guard hired Ballard Diving & Salvage Co. to plug vents and seal the vessel’s fuel tanks. However, a cracked vent allowed fuel to leak from the sunken vessel at an estimated rate of 2 gallons per minute. On May 14, some [...] 2. THREAT: OIL. COMMODITY: DIESEL. MAXIMUM POTENTIAL RELEASE: 3600 GALLONS. 3. POSITION 48.228N 122.706W. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 8446: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/8446Open record and warning history →
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