Harbor still closed after oil spill
By KIM HOYUM, Journal Staff WriterArticle Photos
The Tug Dorothy Ann was leaving the Shiras Power Plant at about 6:30 Monday morning when it touched bottom, damaging its port side propeller, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The ship is a composite tug, built onto the Pathfinder barge, which had delivered a load of limestone to the plant, according to the Coast Guard.
About 30 gallons of gear oil from the propeller leaked into the Lower Harbor, triggering a response from the Coast Guard and city officials. The Dorothy Ann responded by using an absorbent boom to contain and collect the spill, and the Coast Guard deployed about 500 feet of containment boom.
The city closed the harbor both for the safety of boaters and so the cleanup efforts would be undisturbed, said Capt. Mike Angeli, acting chief of the Marquette City Police Department, and also acting harbormaster.
Chief Petty Officer Brad Adams, officer in charge of the Marquette Coast Guard station, said the boat notified the Coast Guard immediately of the spill and was not in any way at fault in the accident.
“We also have hired an additional cleanup company which is now on the site for ongoing cleanup and recovery,” Adams said.
Steve Casey of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality assisted the Coast Guard Monday, and said the oil leak poses no lasting danger to the environment of the harbor.
“At this point, as it sits, there’s no concern from the spill,” Casey said. Although the city water intake is in the vicinity, Casey said since the oil was on the surface, and the intake is at the lake bottom, there was no risk to the water supply.
Cleanup was completed Monday evening, and today Coast Guard divers are scheduled to secure and mark the lost propeller, which could pose a hazard to navigation, said Lt. Kurt Higginbotham of the Coast Guard Sault Ste. Marie Sector. The divers will use sonar to locate the propeller, since its exact location is yet unknown. It will then be removed from the lake.
“We’ll be coming in with a crane on Thursday to lift it out of there,” he said.
The divers also will seal off any lines on the propeller to prevent any further leaks when it is lifted, he said. The propeller still contains about 300 gallons of petroleum.
“Once that’s out of the lake and they’ve cleaned up the oil, that’ll be the end of it,” Casey said.
The Dorothy Ann belongs to Interlake Steamship Company of Ohio. Interlake contracted with Marine Pollution Control and Mackinac Environmental Technology of St. Ignace to help with containment and cleanup of the oil, Adams said.
Petty Officer Aaron Borg, a marine science technician, said good weather Monday helped the cleanup efforts and there should be no lasting effects to the harbor.
“There shouldn’t be much damage at all. People don’t have to worry about catching fish out of here or eating it,” Borg said, adding the spill was small.
“This is very minor; anything in the Great Lakes under 1,000 gallons is minor, so it’s very small,” he said.
Adams said although the spill was minor, it created a noticeable oil smell, and a large slick on the harbor’s surface.
“A little bit of oil goes a long, long way,” he said. “It did require a substantial amount of effort to clean up our harbor.”
The Coast Guard continues to investigate the grounding, and Adams said it’s possible that the lake bottom around the plant had shifted, creating shallows or sandbars where the boat’s captain did not expect them.
“It’s being investigated to see whether over the winter months, the bottom structure changed,” he said.
The Dorothy Ann is likely to dock at the Upper Harbor ore dock until the company completes repairs and the Sault Ste. Marie Coast Guard captain of port allows it to get under way again, Coast Guard officers said.
The harbor was still closed this morning and Angeli said the Coast Guard will determine when to open it.
“Once the Coast Guard gives me the OK that they’re done, and no safety issues remain for boaters, then we’ll be able to do that,” he said.
