History Detail
Incident Name: M/T Kapitan Egorov

Subject: Report - Final

Incident Date: 6/21/1998

Incident Location: Guayanilla Harbor, Puerto Rico

Author: Bradford L. Benggio

Latitude: 17°57.7' N

Longitude: 066°45.96' W

Product: #6 fuel oil and IFO

Type: 4

Source:grounded tank ship.

RAR: Habitat: extensive exposed and sheltered mangroves, coral reefs Birds: brown pelican, terns, brown booby, magnificent frigate bird, wading birds, shorebirds, gulls, grebes, coots, gallinules, osprey, peregrine falcon, brown boobies, white-tailed tropic birds, and roseate terns. Fish: reef fish Mollusks: queen conch Crustaceans: spiny lobster Marine Mammals: dolphins, manatee Reptiles: hawksbill, green, and leatherback turtles Recreation: small-scale fisheries Management Areas: power plant water intake

Dispersants: No, but planned for as a contingency if there is a large release.

Bioremediation: No, but potential use was evaluated.

In-Situ Burning: No. evaluated, but deemed unfeasible.

Special Interest Topic(s): none

Shoreline Type(s) Impacted: The grounding occurred nearshore on hard bottom with scattered coral. Area access was very limited.

Summary: At approximately 6:30 PM on June 21, 1998, the M/T Kapitan Egorov ran hard aground in Puerto Rico at Guayanilla Harbor near Buoy #1. The 206-meter vessel was carrying 298,000 gallons of #6 fuel oil. Initial trajectory analysis indicated that if a significant amount of product was lost, the reef front to the northwest of the grounding site and the Punta Verraco area would be threatened. On the flood tide, oil would be carried into the western arm of Bahia De Guayanilla and threaten the mangrove area in the back reaches of the bay. Beyond the immediate vicinity of the grounding, the dominant strong easterly winds and forecast persistent trades would tend to move spilled oil west along the coast where it could cause scattered or patchy shoreline impacts along the entire southeast coast of Puerto Rico. Given the forecast winds, it was expected that less than ten percent of the oil would evaporate or disperse into the water column during the first 24 hours. Emulsification was not expected to occur.

NOAA Activities: NOAA was notified of this incident on June 21, 1998, by MSO San Juan who requested the SSC on-scene. NOAA provided an evaluation of the potential use of wetting agents to pre-treat mangroves if there is a spill. This action was not advised primarily because this technique has not been shown to be effective, none of the potential products had been tested for toxicity to the biological communities associated with the mangrove proproots, and no pre-treating agents were currently listed on the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) product schedule. The USCG obtained samples of each oil onboard, #6, IFO, and diesel. The #6 and IFO fuel samples were sent to LSU for dispersant effectiveness evaluations and held for full characterization in the event of a spill. Dispersant evaluations were performed with Corexit 9527 and Corexit 9500, which are formulated specifically for heavier oils like #6 and IFO. Indications were that the 9500 formulation was more effective. The Corexit 9580 shoreline cleaning agent was also evaluated and considered a possible method for cleaning mangroves if there is a spill. Contingency shoreline assessments were conducted with representatives from NOAA, USCG, Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) and the RP. The objectives were: l determine the most sensitive sections of the shoreline and ground truth information in the Area Contingency Plan, l identify areas of natural or desired collection, l evaluate staging or deployment areas for boom and/or response equipment, and l evaluate realistic and potential response and cleanup options. This survey was judged necessary by the Planning Section because of the remote access to the area and the limited detailed information in the Area Contingency Plan. Following is the Planning Section’s survey plan submitted to the Unified Command: The Unified Command, in order to provide adequate incident-specific contingency planning, met to decide potential response and cleanup by the Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Team (SCAT) of the area that would be at immediate risk if there is a spill of oil from the Kapitan Egorov grounding site. Although the area contingency plan provides some general response information for the area, detailed information needed to plan an effective response had to be obtained. The area of immediate concern was remote with very limited access, so planning response options must be developed with that limitation in mind. The RP provided a four-passenger helicopter for this survey. The flight departed from Isla Granada Airport with members of the Unified Command survey party onboard. The Unified Command was made up of representatives from NOAA, USFWS, PRDNER, and the RP. The party conducted an aerial survey of the area from Cayo Maria Langa to Pta. Ventana. NOAA provided base maps of the survey area for all members of the team. The objective was to use these maps to: l annotate information that will be helpful for identifying the most critical or sensitive segments of shoreline, l identify areas of natural or desired oil collection, l evaluate areas for effective boom and skimmer placement, l evaluate equipment staging and deployment areas, l identify areas of access, l evaluate realistic potential shoreline cleanup options, and l identify any biological resources currently present in the area (i.e., nesting sea birds, sea turtle crawls, bird roosts, etc.) The results of the survey were documented and provided to the Unified Command. Overflight Survey Results An overflight over the Guayanilla area was conducted on June 23 to survey and assess the area for potential response and cleanup actions should a release of oil occur during the salvage operations for the Kapitan Egorov. Response Options and Recommendations: Response options were very limited due to the remoteness of the area, difficult access to western shorelines from both land and sea, and choppy seas in shallow waters. Much of the shoreline in the western half of the bay, Puerto de Guayanilla, (at greatest risk of oiling because of easterly winds) is composed of extensive mangroves. There are also several pockets and stretches of sand beaches. Offshore, there are extensive areas of seagrass beds and shallow- to exposed-coral and rubble reefs. Wildlife activity in the area consisted mainly of bird nesting on the small island at Arrecife Unitas. Spill trajectory forecasts predict that shoreline impacts would begin to occur within the first two hours following a release from the present grounding location. To maximize the effectiveness of oil containment and recovery if there is a release, it is recommended that lightering operations be conducted only during daylight hours so that the oil can be tracked and equipment can be more effectively deployed. If night operations are planned, and if the command believes there is significant risk of a spill, during lightering and salvage operation pre-deployment of protection booming strategies should be considered. During lightering, a boom should be placed around the barge at all times. It is also recommended that shallow boom and snare be deployed around the bird cay at Arrecife Unitas. If sea conditions prevent the deployment of this equipment, a boat with equipment should be standing by ready to deploy if there is a release. This site is within 1 mile west of the ship, and there would not be time to effectively deploy boom from shore-based staging areas after a release. It is recommended that a detailed oil containment and recovery plan be prepared to prevent oil from entering the western part of Bahia de Guayanilla, the area with the most extensive mangroves. Equipment and sufficient, experienced staff should be pre-staged at key shoreline access points during lightering and refloating operations. Based on several background studies, maximum currents in Guayanilla Bay are 0.7 knots. Therefore, boom deployment should be effective precluding prohibitive sea conditions. Sufficient quantities of sorbent material (preferably snare on a rope) should be mobilized to the site ready for deployment in front of the mangroves should oil reach fringing mangroves. There are 6 or 7 nautical miles of mangrove-lined shoreline in the western bay. Also, it is recommended that remote sensing capability be available to track oil if there is a spill during any night operations. If a large release occurs, use of dispersants may be considered especially once the slick is west of Pta. Ventanna. The waters in that area are deep (up to 120 feet within 1 mile offshore), and there are no known reefs. These are the conditions under which dispersants have been pre-approved. Dispersant effectiveness evaluations will be conducted at LSU with oil samples from the vessel. Trustees to be notified in the event of a spill or potential release include PRDNER, NOAA, DOI and the State Historical Protection Office. Also, since there are two water intakes in the area, both Puerto Rico EPA, and Caribbean Oil Refining Company should be notified. Shoreline Cleanup Recommendations: Because there was no access to the mangrove shorelines at risk, chemical shoreline cleaning agents and flushing were not recommended. It is possible that areas with heavy pockets of oil may be cleaned with sorbents or vacuums from boats. Because this was a heavy #6 oil (API ~14), the oil would sink and affect coral and seagrasses only after stranding on the shoreline and mixing with sand and shell material. If oil does come ashore along sand beaches, efforts should be made to collect the oil quickly before it can be washed back offshore or buried. End Results The lightering vessel Barge Texas was alongside the Kapitan Egorov by 1100 on June 24. Navy SUPSALV arrived on-scene and began evaluating salvage plans with the RP. At 1340, boom was deployed around the vessel and lightering of the vessel began at 1530. Lightering continued until approximately midnight. Ballast water was then discharged. The vessel was refloated around 0800 on June 25, but had a list to port due to a leak in the #3 tank. Divers surveyed the damage and determined it was not too severe. The vessel was allowed to transit to the CORCO facility dock on June 26, to offload cargo and fuel. No spill occurred during the incident. Once the vessel was refloated, DNER divers conducted surveys of the bottom at the grounding site to assess damages to the reef. According to information provided by United States Geological Survey (USGS) in San Juan, the bottom at the grounding site was carbonate sand that is course to gravel size. Its origin is coralline algae. There are also some small coral heads, but too small to map at the 1:40,000 map scale USGS has. NOAA Activities: NOAA provided on-scene support from June 21 through 26 for this response. The SSC coordinated scientific and technical input used for the response from NOAA Hazardous Materials Response and Assessment division (HAZMAT) and other NOAA resources as well as from state agencies, other federal agencies, local academia, salvors and the Incident Command System (ICS) in general. The SSC served as the lead for technical specialist within the ICS with the assistance of a resources at risk specialist provided by NOAA. NOAA provided support from the HAZMAT Modeling and Simulations Studies Branch (MASS) for potential oil trajectories. These trajectory analyses were updated as on-scene weather dictated. NOAA provided on-scene weather forecasts for the area with the assistance of the National Weather Service. Predicted tides were also provided. NOAA HAZMAT's health and safety officer provided health and safety information related to personal protection equipment (PPE) requirements and exposure concerns to the oil types for this incident. NOAA provided information for local resources at risk and coordinated with other local trustees and stakeholders to ensure all resource concerns were identified. NOAA's resources at risk expert led resource evaluations on-scene to help establish protection recommendations and priorities. Additionally, shoreline pre-SCAT assessments were conducted to identify areas of turtle nesting, other response or shoreline cleanup issues, and protection priorities. These surveys were conducted jointly with representatives from USFW, DNER, the RP, and the EQB. NOAA provided information management, distribution, and documentation assistance during the response on-scene.

References: CRRT Dispersant Use Plan and Letters of Agreement for Puerto Rico, Dispersant Application, Corexit 9527, 9500, and 9580 technical data bulletins. The Coastal Area Contingency Plan for Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. NOAA. 1993. ADIOS™ (Automated Data Inquiry for Oil Spills) User's Manual. Seattle: Hazardous Materials Response and Assessment Division, NOAA. 50 pp. NOAA Hotline #310, 22 Reports NOAA Nautical charts NOAA. 1994. Shio. Tide computer program (prototype). Seattle: Hazardous Materials Response and Assessment Division, NOAA. Research Planning Institute. 1984. Sensitivity of coastal environments and wildlife to spilled oil: Puerto Rico. A coastal atlas. San Juan: Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources. 35 maps. Torgrimson, Gary M. 1984. The on-scene spill model: a user's guide. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOAA OMA-12. Seattle: Office of Oceanography and Marine Assessment. 87 pp. USCG POLREPS for the Kapitan Egorov Incident