Peninsula Daily News news sources
PORT GAMBLE — The Washington Ecology Department is responding to a Navy surplus boat that ran aground in Port Gamble Bay on the Kitsap Peninsula and is spilling diesel fuel from a vent.
KING-TV reported that the privately owned boat broke loose in Wednesday’s storm and ran aground on reservation land. The Port Gamble S’Klallam tribe was deploying oil containment and absorbent booms.
Ecology spokeswoman Barb MacGregor said the tribe has closed the shellfish harvest in the area.
She said a caretaker for the boat has agreed to hire a contractor to plug the vents and help clean up the fuel. MacGregor said the amount spilled is under investigation.
The vessel reportedly had 1,000 gallons of fuel on board. A sheen has traveled out the north end of the bay, which is about two miles from the Hood Canal Bridge.