Sunken vessel spills oil into lagoon

An oil spill from a sea vessel that sunk after its mooring broke due to bad weather threatened Saipan’s marine environment and navigation before federal and local agencies successfully removed the abandoned vessel from the Saipan lagoon.

Coastal Resources Management Office’s chief enforcement officer Martin Cabrera also disclosed that the MV Mwaalil Saat contained about 50 cubic yards of contaminated sediments, including asbestos.

“While the owner reported that the tanks had been run dry, there was a diesel sheen around the vessel and a two-foot by half-mile trail of black oil. The vessel was blocking the island’s only fuel dock. The situation was critical since fuel for the island’s electricity comes through that dock,” he said.

Cabrera disclosed this Friday following the recent completion of the salvage operations of the 90-foot-long, 30-foot-wide, 164-ton trawler from the water fronting the Tanapag Harbor. He said the vessel was salvaged from underwater and cut into pieces for disposal.

Gov. Juan N. Babauta thanked the U.S. Coast Guard for assisting the CNMI in the removal of the vessel from the waters, recognizing the “enormous threat to the marine environment, public safety, and the economy.”

“The rapid response to stop the release of oil into the environment by the USCG and the decisions made to remove the vessel from the water left the CNMI free to deal with numerous other problems created by Typhoon Tingting and subsequently Typhoon Chaba,” Babauta said, in a letter to the Coast Guard’s Capt. Dale M. Rausch.

Cabrera said salvage operations, which cost about $3.5 million and took over two months to complete, were funded by the U.S. Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration considered the operations a high priority.

Cabrera said the vessel’s mooring broke during the onslaught of Typhoon Tingting, causing it to sink underwater.

“The vessel rested on a sand and coral rubble bottom with low coral cover and was in close proximity to more sensitive habitats including mudflats, mangroves and coral reefs,” he said.

In response to the incident, Cabrera said a unified command was established. Agencies involved were the U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA, and the CRMO, he said.

The contractor for the salvage operations, Titan Maritime, removed the vessel from the water and broke it for scrap. It cut the ship into five large sections and brought them upland.

“The salvors used sorbent material to collect and contain as much oil as possible. They also had to remove asbestos as it was found,” Cabrera said. “They also cleaned the engine room before it was cut up. When the operation was complete, contaminated sediments were removed from the staging area and clean aggregate was applied.”

“The debris brought up from the vessel and the area surrounding it were returned to the owner or sent to a landfill after being tested for PCB contamination,” he said.

Cabrera said about 125.5 metric tons of scrap was recycled, while some 50 cubic yards of contaminated sediments were packed and shipped to United States mainland for proper disposal.