IncidentNews Home  >>  Incident  >>  Entry

M/B VESTA BELLA

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS BASED ON THE MOST CURRENT DATA PROVIDED TO NOAA. - Overflight
observations: Debra Simecek-Beatty flew today on the C-130/SLAR.  No oil was observed
until off of St. Christopher.  On the east side of St. Christopher, SLAR indicated two
possible patches of sheen that were not verified visually. These two patches due East of
St. Kitts are being identified as SLAR positive.  Just south of Nevis Island, patches of
silver sheens with interspersed pancakes were observed.  The pancakes were less than 5
yards in diameter (easily identified on SLAR).  The source leak rate has slightly
increased since Friday and is located at 17 degrees 22.4 minutes north, 62 degrees 19 .2
minutes west.  Right at the source, the width of the slick is about 200 to 300 yards wide
with an estimated 30 - 40% coverage of recoverable oil. Moving away from the source the
slick tapers to about 100-200 yards wide out to about 1 1/2 nautical miles.  It is
oriented toward 230 degrees and the amount of recoverable oil there is less than 15%.
Between 1.5 and 2.5 nautical miles from the source, the slick turns towards 320 degrees
and feathers out into windrows with pancakes interspersed. Coverage of recoverable oil
between 1.5 and 2.5 nautical miles is about 1%.  After 2.5 nautical miles, the slick comes
back toward 230 degrees with patches of sheen and pancakes to about 10 nautical miles off
Nevis Island.  The SLAR imagery was excellent again today, picking up the slick all the
way from the source to Nevis Island. . Report from SSC- No new shoreline forms have been
received.  Efforts are focusing on the entry of existing forms into the data base.  The
on-scene SSC has received a report from Jeff Dahlin regarding the Virgin Island mangrove
impacts and monitoring recommendations.  The SSC spoke with Charlie Henry (LSU) about the
work he has been doing with testing dispersants on this product.  None of the five
dispersants tested proved beneficial in dispersing the oil.  This oil contains
approximately eighteen (18) times higher concentrations of semi-volatile polyaromatics
than North Slope Crude.  There should not be an acute health problem with this oil but
there is a possibility of a chronic problem. Human contact with the oil should be avoided.
However, the oil is not necessarily toxic. A meeting scheduled for 12:30 addressing
disposal was cancelled due to the absence of the two Puerto Rican agencies.  An attempt
will be made to reschedule for tomorrow.  The Caribbean RRT conference call occurred at
1400.  It included the EPA, Coast Guard, NOAA, DOI and DOC.  The OSC reports that Puerto
Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands clean-up operations are winding down.  St. John clean up
is virtually complete, with the exception of moving remaining bags of debris to temporary
storage sites.  A barge will pick up the waste for disposal in Puerto Rico.  Culebra is
still being cleaned using a temporary storage site. Vieques is still being cleaned also.
The SSC reported on yesterday's overflight along the South coast.  The OSC reported that
the skimmer still hadn't reached the spill site.  The overflight showed oil is still
leaking with a 30% coverage of brown oil in an approximately 4 mile long slick.  The OSC
voiced the idea of having what he called an "enhanced release rate" from the barge
possibly having the Navy go down and open the barge holds.  Capt. Zawadski, the co-chair
of the RRT from the district, mentioned that it might be very expensive in terms of either
contracting or with the Navy.  Clean-up costs to date are approx. $500,000, the skimmer
will be $1.2 million for 21 days which includes $70,000 in travel costs.  The next
conference call is scheduled for Friday at 1400. . NOAA Personnel- Gary VanDenBerg has
returned home.  Debra Simecek-Beatty is moving to San Juan.  Ed Levine is in San Juan. .
Future Plans- C130 or helo overflight to Culebra either late today or early tomorrow. A
helicopter is available for overflights. The OSC has not decided how much longer to keep
NOAA personnel on scene. SSC will contact various agencies to determine degree of
satisfaction with clean up operations. . Contact Phone Numbers- MSO (809) 725-0857 FAX
(809) 722-2697