ORIENTAL — Workers were busy cleaning up a diesel oil spill near the head of Oriental Harbor Wednesday, the results of a shrimp trawler sinking near Hodges Street a day earlier.
The 71-foot Lady Barbara was partially submerged in the harbor beside the docks of Garland Fulcher Seafood packing house.
The boat, which belongs to Ralph Taylor of Marshallberg, had been docked at the seafood company for several months. Taylor said the craft had engine problems and he had planned to move it back to Carteret County.
He said there were apparent leaks, and an electric pump was dispersing the incoming water. But the pump apparently failed sometime early Tuesday, and the 35-year-old wooden vessel began to sink.
“(The leaks) must have been worse than we thought,” said the boat owner.
Sherrill Styron, owner of the seafood company, said an absorbent boom was put around the boat to help contain the spill. He called Taylor and the U.S. Coast Guard, who arrived Tuesday afternoon.
“Our main concern is the oil,” Ralph Taylor said Wednesday, as his son Steve and two other workers began the task of pumping the oil off the water from the most concentrated areas around the boat. “Oil rises to the top of water. We’re going to pump it out into tanks.”
The large tanks are topside on another of Taylor’s boats, the Miss Melissa.
Workers also were putting petroleum absorbent pads on the water near the docks to gather more of the visible spillage.
Taylor said the Lady Barbara holds 4,000 gallons of fuel, but because of the engine mishap, all but 100 to 150 gallons had been pumped out earlier.
Steve Taylor said working on the oil spill was the priority and when that job was completed, he would begin work on pumping the water out of the boat and then towing it to Carteret County.
Coast Guard Petty Ofc. William Johnson was on site Wednesday morning, conferring with the boat owner, observing the cleanup and gathering information on the incident.
“The Coast Guard is conducting a preliminary investigation,” he said. “Our main goal is to mitigate the source of the spill and ensure there is corrective action. My main priority right now is working with the owner to mitigate the spill from any further environmental damage.”
There was visible oil sheen on the water along the town docks adjacent to Hodges Street and a noticeable odor of diesel.
The boat owner could face fines or citations from the incident, although the Coast Guard said that would come after the investigation is complete.
Oriental Mayor Bill Sage said the town was watching the situation.
“The town is certainly interested in seeing to it that the harbor is cleaned up,” he said. “The Coast Guard has been on site and is involved. We are monitoring right now to see that things proceed and the problem is addressed and the harbor is cleaned.”
Styron, who has owned the seafood company for many decades, said he did not recall any other incidents of a boat sinking in the harbor.
Charlie Hall can be reached at 635-5667 or Charlie.hall@newbernsj.com.