Navy boat has been recycled

A U.S. Navy Pacific Missile Range Facility spill-response team cleaned up a small fuel spill from a Navy boat that beached at the Port Allen Small Boat Harbor during a windstorm last month, a Navy spokesperson said Wednesday.

The small spill was contained, and caused no environmental damage, according to Vida N. Mossman, public affairs specialist at PMRF in Mana.

The 65-foot-long, 30-ton vessel contained 425 gallons of fuel when it was beached near the harbor boat ramp on Jan. 14.

“All the fuel was recovered except for a small amount (10 gallons or less) that escaped through the vent system,” Mossman said.

The 10 gallons were recovered as the “venting occurred, and the fuel recovery was handled by the PMRF Spill Response Team using a Navy skimmer, sweeps and absorbents,” Mossman said.

The spill occurred within a boomed area around the boat, Mossman said.

The Navy team was on hand for the cleanup from 5:30 a.m. on Jan. 14 to 10 a.m. Jan. 18.

On the cleanup operation, Mossman said Liz Galves, a state Department of Health representative, was involved with “every step of the fuel recovery,” including “safety, spill response, salvage operations and recycling.”

After the cleanup, the torpedo recovery boat was cut up for scrap.

Navy officials had planned on disposing of the torpedo-recovery boat prior to the Jan. 14 beaching, Mossman said.

PMRF officials were to make arrangements with the “Defense Reutilization Marketing Office for appropriate disposition of the vessel at the time of the grounding,” Mossman said.

The boat was dismantled and salvaged by Unlimited Construction through a $35,000 contract, Mossman said.

The scrap metal is to be “recycled,” and Navy leaders have no plans to replace the boat with another boat for its operations at PMRF, Mossman said.

Staff Writer Lester Chang may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net.