The authorities announced that Tampa Bay remained closed to boating traffic this morning after a Thursday night collision between a fishing trawler and a barge resulted in a spill of about 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel into the water. Coast Guard Petty Officer Sondra Kay Kneen said that freighters, tankers and barges are in a holding pattern west of the Sunshine Skyway bridge, and all vessels in port are under orders to remain where they are.
She also told that the fishing vessel Maranatha, an 80-foot-long boat from Irvington, Ala., and the Coastal, a 95-foot-long barge, collided about two miles northwest of Manbirtee Key near the Skyway, which spans the mouth of the Bay. It is informed that the collision caused a 4-by-8-inch gash in the Maranatha’s fuel tank. The Coast Guard believes between 800 and 1,600 gallons of diesel fuel spilled into the water, but fog and darkness limited officials’ ability to make an exact estimate. The tank holds about 4,000 gallons.
The Coat Guard officials added that the fishing vessel has been boomed and that will contain any fuel that continues to spill. The St. Petersburg-based Coast Guard cutter Hawk, a 25-foot patrol boat and a pollution abatement team were sent to the scene of the collision on Thursday night. However, the probe is on to know the reason behind the collision.
