Spills
South timbalier block 38; louisiana coast
NOAAORR-6840
- issued
- 1991-10-14 00:00Z
- status
- cancelled 1991-10-28 00:00Z
- self-cancels
- 1991-10-28 00:00Z
- authority
- NOAA OR&R
- sea
- Gulf of Mexico
- position
- 28.935, -90.308
- source
- incidentnews · first seen 2026-09-03 15:09Z
Original warning text
South Timbalier Block 38; Louisiana Coast. Louisiana Coast. 1. At 0730 CDT on 10/14/91 the oil rig South Timbalier Block 38 experienced a mechanical malfunction that caused it to release an estimated 300 bbls of light crude (API 39.5) into the water off the Louisiana coast. The rig is located at 28 degrees, 56.12 minutes N, 090 degrees, 18.49 minutes W. The leak has been stopped. The oil rig is owned by ELF Exploration of Houston, Texas. A US Coast Guard overflight at 1330 CDT observed an approximately 7 mile by 3 mile patch of light rainbow sheen with some mousse 4 1/2 miles south of the Barrier Islands on the Louisiana coast. At that time the patch appeared to be moving North at 1/2 knot, and the winds were at 10-15 knots from the South. The current weather report shows that the winds should swing to the North sometime during the night. It is expected that approx. 50 per cent of the oil will have weathered in the first 24 hours. The SSC (Cdr. [...] 2. COMMODITY: LIGHT CRUDE OIL. MAXIMUM POTENTIAL RELEASE: 12600 GALLONS. 3. POSITION 28.935N 090.308W. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 6840: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/6840
This area · spills & pollution incidents
1093 within 180 nm since 1970 · 37 in the last 12 months · 3 in force now
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- Crude oil spill and in-situ burn at tpic; south pass 24, pilottown, louisiana2026-08-26
- Intermittent oil sheen; flower garden banks national marine sanctuary, bright bank2026-08-25
- 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
- Wcc oil spill, main pass 21; breton sound, louisiana2026-06-11
Season · when spills & pollution incidents happen here
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month of issue, all years in the archive
Timeline · 2 messages since 1991-10-14 · closed 1991-10-28
- Elf exploration rig; south timbalier block 381991-10-14 → 1991-10-28
- South timbalier block 38; louisiana coast this message1991-10-14 → 1991-10-28
joined by proximity
Nearby now · within 120 nm
- Crude oil spill and in-situ burn at tpic; south pass 24, pilottown, louisianaSpills · 54.5 nm
- Uscg remote communication facility new orleans 29-53.00N 089-57.00W mf and hf dsc off airNav aids · 59.9 nm
- Survey operations in progress until 15 sep by M/V island pride, M/V sanco swift and M/V olympic artemis in…Surveys · 106.2 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.