Spills
At approximately midnight on september 3, 1988, the esso puerto rico, newly loaded with carbon-black…
T/v Esso Puerto Rico; Mississippi River · Mississippi River · NOAAORR-6612
- issued
- 1988-09-03 00:00Z
- status
- cancelled 1988-09-17 00:00Z
- self-cancels
- 1988-09-17 00:00Z
- authority
- NOAA OR&R
- sea
- Gulf of Mexico
- position
- 29.970, -90.393
- source
- incidentnews · first seen 2026-09-03 15:09Z
Original warning text
T/V ESSO PUERTO RICO; Mississippi River. Mississippi River. 1. At approximately midnight on September 3, 1988, the ESSO Puerto Rico, newly loaded with carbon-black feedstock at EXXON Corporation's Baton Rouge facility, was en route down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. The vessel struck a submerged object at mile marker 114, opening a starboard tank that released 23,000 barrels of material. A hole measuring 14 inches by more than 32 feet resulted in the bulk of the material being released within approximately 45 minutes over 10 miles travel downriver. The U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Office (MSO), New Orleans, was notified of the spill and the vessel was anchored at mile marker 75. The feedstock material spilled was not visible at the water surface and, except for small, rainbow sheens of about 12 inches in diameter developing near the anchor site and the severely listing vessel, no other evidence of a spill was apparent. USCG [...] 2. COMMODITY: CARBON-BLACK FEEDSTOCK. MAXIMUM POTENTIAL RELEASE: 966000 GALLONS. 3. POSITION 29.970N 090.393W. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 6612: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/6612
This area · spills & pollution incidents
1114 within 180 nm since 1970 · 40 in the last 12 months · 2 in force now
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- Crude oil spill and in-situ burn at tpic; south pass 24, pilottown, louisiana2026-08-26
- 8X38+5H dauphin island, al, USA2026-08-24
- Mystery sheen at south pass 29; port eads, louisiana2026-08-13
- Mystery oiled shoreline at holly beach; cameron parish, louisiana2026-07-10
- Johnson bayou, la2026-06-17
- Wcc oil spill, main pass 21; breton sound, louisiana2026-06-11
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Timeline · 4 messages since 1988-09-03 · closed 1988-10-15
- Mississippi river, louisiana1988-09-03 → 1988-09-17
- At approximately midnight on september 3, 1988, the esso puerto rico, newly loaded with carbon-black… this message1988-09-03 → 1988-09-17
- New orleans, louisiana1988-09-10 → 1988-09-24
- In late september 1988, approximately 100 barrels of sweet crude oil leaked from an m&v production company…1988-10-01 → 1988-10-15
joined by proximity
Nearby now · within 120 nm
Worldwide now
8 spills & pollution incidents in force · see all
Spills
Oil and chemical spills, groundings and vessel casualties with a pollution threat: NOAA IncidentNews responses since 1957, and spill-response areas broadcast as navigational warnings. All current spills & pollution incidents →
Not for navigation. This is a re-rendering of an official navigational warning for awareness; mariners must use official NAVAREA broadcasts and their national MSI service.