Sunken fishing ship recovery to run over $1 million

The Washington State Department of Ecology has put
together a team of divers and oil clean-up specialists
that are working to recover the 128 foot fishing ship that
sank on May 13th in Penn Cove near Whidbey Island. The
effort is expected to cost almost $1 million.

Starting on May 23rd, diving teams surveyed the wreck of
the ship. The “Deep Sea,” which caught fire two weeks ago,
sank on May 13th in 60 feet of water and started to leak
oil into shellfish fields.

“We know that at one point early in the spill there was
oil sheen right in among the mussel rafts, so there was
definitely an effect there. We haven’t gotten any reports
of any oiled fish or birds or mammals and that’s good
news, but we’re watching this all the time,” says Curt
Hart, of the Department of Ecology.

During the clean-up, divers exploring the wreck released
more oil in the process of trying to raise the vessel.
However, they have been able to recover almost 5,000
gallons of oil from fuel tanks and from the water’s
surface since recovery efforts started.

Contractors for the Department of Ecology put up an oil
boom to contain oil that was already on the water. Later
on, workers also put a floating boom up in two lines to
protect shellfish nearby.

“Right now we’re seeing a light coating of oil on the
water and that’s why we’re really working so hard to get
this thing out of the environment because we don’t want to
see more fuel leaking,” says Hart.

Workers consider the recovery effort a success so far
since no oiled fish, birds, or mammals have been found.
According to a Department of Ecology press release, the oil on
the water had dissipated almost completely by May 17th.

The next step in the clean-up is to recover the boat. The
state has contracted with Global Diving and Salvage and
General Construction Company to coordinate these efforts.

However, the Department of Ecology is not ready to give an
estimate as to when they will have the Deep Sea out of the
water. In the meantime, the cost of the recovery is
climbing.

“[The costs are] Between $700 and $750 thousand and we
haven’t even started raising this vessel, so the costs are
going to rise. The ultimate price tag is unknown, but
it’s going to be above $750 thousand,” explains Hart.

The state will continue the temporary closure of shellfish
farming in the area, which was declared on May 15th, until
Department of Ecology experts can determine that the water
is safe.

97.3 KIRO FM’s Frank Shiers and the Associated Press
contributed to this report.