Hamilton Reef
06-17-2005, 11:17 PM
Boat sinks at slip, fuel spill contained
By BRIAN MULHERIN, Daily News Staff Writer
bmulherin@ludingtondailynews.com 843-1122, ext. 348
A boat berthed in Harbor View Marina sank late Wednesday, leaking several gallons of gasoline into the water in surrounding slips.
Dreamcatcher, a 32-foot Carver, was discovered about 11 p.m. by a boater who docks about three slips from where the vessel went down.
“He heard an alarm going off,” said Harbor View Dockmaster Don Fallis.
Fallis said that because of all the floating gasoline, the Ludington Fire Department responded and placed absorbent pads in the slips where the fluid was visible.
The owner of the boat, Jim Edgar of Chesaning, was contacted by the marina and arrived early this morning. He, or his insurance company, will be responsible for the environmental cleanup, which will be performed by Envirogroup.
Marine Science Technical Chief Drew Doxsee of U.S. Coast Guard Group Grand Haven said the boat appeared to be leaking not more than two gallons per hour and guessed that, at most, there were about 18 gallons of gasoline and motor oil within the marina.
Fallis said the north wind kept much of the spill confined to Edgar’s slip and the surrounding slips on the north side of “B” dock.
Group Grand Haven, which covers the area from New Buffalo north to Frankfort, usually sees about three such sinkings per year. Already in the last week, Doxsee said he’s responded to three; two were a result of a fire in a marina along the Grand River.
Fallis said this is the first such sinking in Harbor View Marina in its seven years in operation. A boat sank last summer in Ludington Municipal Marina during the Ludington Gander Mountain Offshore Classic.
The cause of the sinking has not yet been determined, but one theory discussed this morning is that a dock hose was left on and somehow overloaded the bilge pumps, causing the boat to sink.
By BRIAN MULHERIN, Daily News Staff Writer
bmulherin@ludingtondailynews.com 843-1122, ext. 348
A boat berthed in Harbor View Marina sank late Wednesday, leaking several gallons of gasoline into the water in surrounding slips.
Dreamcatcher, a 32-foot Carver, was discovered about 11 p.m. by a boater who docks about three slips from where the vessel went down.
“He heard an alarm going off,” said Harbor View Dockmaster Don Fallis.
Fallis said that because of all the floating gasoline, the Ludington Fire Department responded and placed absorbent pads in the slips where the fluid was visible.
The owner of the boat, Jim Edgar of Chesaning, was contacted by the marina and arrived early this morning. He, or his insurance company, will be responsible for the environmental cleanup, which will be performed by Envirogroup.
Marine Science Technical Chief Drew Doxsee of U.S. Coast Guard Group Grand Haven said the boat appeared to be leaking not more than two gallons per hour and guessed that, at most, there were about 18 gallons of gasoline and motor oil within the marina.
Fallis said the north wind kept much of the spill confined to Edgar’s slip and the surrounding slips on the north side of “B” dock.
Group Grand Haven, which covers the area from New Buffalo north to Frankfort, usually sees about three such sinkings per year. Already in the last week, Doxsee said he’s responded to three; two were a result of a fire in a marina along the Grand River.
Fallis said this is the first such sinking in Harbor View Marina in its seven years in operation. A boat sank last summer in Ludington Municipal Marina during the Ludington Gander Mountain Offshore Classic.
The cause of the sinking has not yet been determined, but one theory discussed this morning is that a dock hose was left on and somehow overloaded the bilge pumps, causing the boat to sink.