Spills · oil

Newport, rhode island

T/v World Prodigy; Newport, Rhode Island · NOAAORR-6704

issued
1989-06-23 00:00Z
status
cancelled 1989-07-07 00:00Z
self-cancels
1989-07-07 00:00Z
authority
NOAA OR&R
sea
North Atlantic Ocean
position
41.433, -71.367
source
incidentnews · first seen 2026-09-03 15:09Z

Original warning text

T/V World Prodigy; Newport, Rhode Island.
Newport, Rhode Island.
1. At 1640 on June 23, 1989, the Greek Tank Ship World Prodigy ran hard aground on Brenton Reef near the entrance to Narragansett Bay, approximately four miles south of Newport, Rhode Island. The vessel was loaded with 8.2 million gallons (over 195,000 barrels) of No. 2 home heating oil. The grounding tore a 200-foot gash in the hull of the ship, ruptured 9 of the 23 cargo tanks and released approximately 6,900 barrels of oil into the waters of Rhode Island Sound. Immediately before the accident, the vessel was observed operating out of the shipping channel, closer to the Brenton Reef than it should have been. The accident occurred during daylight hours with partly cloudy skies, calm seas, winds NW at 5-10 knots, and visibility 6-8 miles. The response began immediately. Seven rescue ships and several USCG vessels with boom arrived at the scene of the grounding within eleven minutes. The [...]
2. THREAT: OIL. COMMODITY: NO. 2 HEATING OIL. MAXIMUM POTENTIAL RELEASE: 290000 GALLONS.
3. POSITION 41.433N 071.367W. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 6704: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/6704

This area · spills & pollution incidents

531 within 180 nm since 1972 · 11 in the last 12 months · 0 in force now

72
75
80
85
90
95
00
05
10
15
20
25
26

Season · when spills & pollution incidents happen here

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D

month of issue, all years in the archive

Nearby now · within 120 nm

Nothing else in force within 120 nm.

Worldwide now

7 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.