State fines owner of derelict boat that burned, sank off Whidbey Island
May 9, 2014, 1:48 PM | Updated: 2:56 pm
The state has issued a $301,000 fine to the owner of a derelict boat that burned and sank off Whidbey Island in May 2012.
The Washington State Department of Ecology called the sinking of the 128-foot long Deep Sea “preventable.” The penalty was issued to Rory Westmoreland of Oroville, Wash.
The state calculated that the derelict vessel released 5,555 gallons of oil in the vicinity of a commercial shellfish operation.
“A shellfish company that grows specialty mussels on floating rafts is just a few dozen yards from where the ship had been moored illegally on state aquatic land,” said Ecology Department spokesman Larry Altose.
Westmoreland failed to take responsibility for the seaworthiness of his vessel, according to the department.
“It’s an unusual situation where a major vessel sinks and the owner is not participating in the response. That failure to participate makes up a major part of this penalty,” said Altose.
The response, clean-up and salvage cost the state more than $2.8 million.
