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1/18/97
A day to remember -- but not repeat
In this e-mail to projo.com, U.S. Coast Guard Capt. P.A. "Barney" Turlo, who coordinated the Coast Guard response, looks back at the clean-up of the North Cape oil spill.
January 19th is a date that will be etched in my mind for as long as I live. The heroic rescue of the crew of the tug SCANDIA by the young Coast Guard crewmen from Station Point Judith was the end of an extraordinary rescue phase and the beginning of a grueling response and salvage phase. As the pre-designated Federal On Scene Coordinator for Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts, I was "in charge" of the team that had to devise a plan to clean up the spilled oil, stem the flow of oil from the barge and the tug, and salvage the two vessels.
Using 20-20 hindsight, I see no way that we could've prevented the 828,000-gallon oil spill once the barge grounded. Based on the diver's survey after the barge was refloated, I was amazed that more oil didn't escape. Had even one of the dozens of cracks and gaping holes in the bottom of the hull propagated -- or extended -- up the side of the barge, we could've easily lost the barge and the entire 4 million gallons of oil. So while we had a tragic, major oil spill, we also had a highly successful removal of 3.2 million gallons of oil under extremely treacherous conditions.
Whenever I think of the NORTH CAPE spill response, I thank God that the team of state, federal, industry and volunteer responders pulled off this tricky, dangerous operation with no injuries to any of the hundreds of responders.
Since the spill, federal, state and industry experts have been working to enhance the safety of tug and barge traffic in New England waters. And we continue to look at ways to improve our response posture as well. We all know that we need to do better.
January 19th? It's a date I'll never forget. I was proud to be part of a great team that did a great job. I hope I never have to do it again.
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