March 21, 2016
WARRENTON, Ore. — The Coast Guard is closely monitoring a grounded vessel in the main shipping channel of the Columbia River Monday morning, after the 623-foot bulk carrier Sparna reportedly went aground at 12:16 a.m., in a narrow part of the river near Cathlamet, Washington.
Coast Guard pollution responders established a unified command incident management structure with Washington Department of Ecology and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality personnel, and alerted federal, state and county agency partners, additionally, there is a scheduled first light Coast Guard helicopter survey of the vessel and the area.
“The positive news so far is that responders have not observed any oil in the water,” said Capt. Dan Travers, Coast Guard Captain of the Port for the Columbia River. “The vessel quickly activated its plan and all federal, state, and county responders mobilized immediately. This is a joint effort with both states and hopefully will just turn out to have been an exercise in mobilizing pollution response resources.”
The Sparna is fully loaded with grain and was out-bound, or heading west, in the Columbia River with a river pilot still onboard when it ran into trouble. The cause of the incident is under investigation. The Sparna immediately activated its “Vessel Response Plan,” required of all large vessels transiting the Columbia River for pollution contingencies.
Under the vessel’s response plan, the Maritime Fire & Safety Association and Clean Rivers Cooperative deployed response vessels, boom and personnel. Incident Management Division responders from Coast Guard Sector Columbia River met Clean Rivers personnel in Cathlamet for a seamless, coordinated response.
The Sparna is laden with 218,380 gallons of high sulfur fuel and 39,380 gallons of marine diesel. Two tug boats – the PJ Brix and Pacific Escort – are on scene to keep the Sparna stabilized. The Coast Guard has not closed the navigable channel of the river.