Incident Name: Bouchard #65
Subject: USCG Case History
Incident Date: 1/28/1977
Incident Location: Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts coast
Author: USCG Case History
Latitude: 41 37 N
Longitude: 070 41 W
USCG District: 1
Product: Number 2 home heating oil
Type: 2
Volume: 1932
Source:Tank Barge
RAR: Lobsters, molluscs
Dispersants: No
Bioremediation: No
In-Situ Burning: Yes
Shoreline Type(s) Impacted:
Summary: On the afternoon of January 28, 1977, the barge Bouchard #65 grounded in a water depth of 17 feet in the ice covered waters of Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. The barge was carrying 76,191 barrels of Number 2 heating oil. The grounding ruptured four of the seven tanks, initially spilling 95 barrels of oil. The Bouchard #65 was towed 4 miles north to Wings Neck where it was grounded intentionally to prevent its sinking and the further release of oil. On the morning of January 29, the Bouchard #85 arrived to begin offloading the oil remaining on the barge. Later that day the Atlantic Strike Team (AST) arrived to assist in the offloading operations. The Bouchard #65 continued to leak oil during the tow to Wings Neck and during lightering operations. The barge was then towed to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy on January 29 where offloading operations continued. On January 30, the barge was finally towed to Boston, Massachusetts where the remaining cargo was offloaded.
Behavior: Number 2 fuel oil is a medium weight material with a minimum API gravity of 30. The Bouchard #65 spilled 1,932 barrels of No. 2 fuel oil. Approximately 95 barrels of oil were spilled at the site of the initial grounding, and more oil leaked as the vessel was towed and grounded at Wings Neck. Approximately 30% of the spilled oil collected into pools of almost pure product at the interstices formed by rafting ice. The ice also effectively contained the oil and prevented it from impacting the shoreline. Some long range transport of oil did occur as oiled ice drifted and melted in areas far from the spill site. The oil was originally contained in a .04 square mile area. After the ice broke up, the slick covered 7.5 square miles. Approximately 285 barrels of oil were lost to weathering.
Countermeasures/Mitigation: Cleanup operations began on January 29. Cannon Engineering, Coastal Services, Inc., and Jetline Services, Inc. were contracted to clean up the spill. Vacuum trucks were used to remove the concentrations of almost pure product from the interstices formed by rafting ice. About 18 percent of the spilled oil (about 357 barrels) was recovered, mostly by this method. Initially, hoses were run from the trucks on the shore to the pools of oil. As the ice began to move and break up, a vacuum truck onboard a tug was used to continue the recovery operations. Five inches of snow fell on February 5 and mixed with the oil, resulting in an oily slush which was much harder to recover with vacuum trucks. \\A Navy Marco skimmer and a Lockheed Arctic Boat were deployed. The Marco skimmer did not recover any significant amounts of oil. Ice wedged in the Lockheed skimmer's intake area, preventing the oil from contacting the recovery disk. Skimmers worked well only in large areas of ice-free water. Because of this they were almost totally useless in the Buzzards Bay operations. Strong currents also hindered skimmer operations.\\Some oiled ice was removed using cranes and trucks. The crane used an "I" beam to rake oiled ice towards the shore. Once collected at the water's edge, front end loaders loaded the oiled ice into trucks for removal to landfills. This method removed very little oil, and caused the shoreline to become oiled.\\On January 31, the USCG ignited the oil slick at the site of the initial grounding, burning approximately 48 barrels of oil. \\Movement and breakup of the ice, snowfall, and the extreme cold hindered the response, which continued until February 25.
Other Special Interest(s): Problems arose with ice clogging the hoses to the vacuum trucks. Sections of hose had to be repeatedly removed and thawed. It was noted that when air was prevented from entering the hoses, clogging problems were reduced.
References: Baxter, et al. 1978. The Bouchard #65 Oil Spill, January 1977, Appendices. U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA. 6 appendices.
Deslauriers, et al. 1977. The Physical and Chemical Behavior of the Bouchard #65 Oil Spill in the Ice Covered Waters of Buzzards Bay. Prepared for U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA. 77 pp.
Gundlach, et al. 1978. Some Guidelines for Oil-Spill Control in Coastal Environments, Based on Field Studies of Four Oil Spills. Chemical Dispersants for the Control of Oil Spills, ASTM STP 659. L.T. McCarthy, Jr., G.P. Lindblom, and H.F. Walter, Eds. American Society for Testing and Materials. pp. 98-118.
MMS Worldwide Tanker Spill Database
NOAA. 1977. Bouchard #65 Oil Spill in Ice Covered Waters of Buzzards Bay.
Last Edit: 9/18/92
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