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Vista Bella

12 miles NE of Nevis Island (British), eastern Caribbean    1991-Mar-06

On March 6, 1991, the Vista Bella sank in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 12 miles northeast of Nevis Island (British). The barge, carrying 13,300 barrels of No. 6 Fuel Oil, sank in approximately 2000 feet of water. The wind speed on the day of the incident was approx. 6-10 knots. The cause of the sinking was not determined. The barge was owned by Offshore Marine Limited and operated under the Trinidad flag. Dispersant was applied from March 9-15, within a two-nautical mile area of the source. The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Atlantic Strike Team (AST) was on-scene from March 14-23. Contractor beach cleanup began on March 27. USCG district 7. Keyword: Atlantic Strike Team (AST), FINASOL OSR-7, adverse weather conditions, manual removal, skimmer, fingerprinting..


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Note: Documents are posted chronologically and early reports likely contain factual errors. These errors may be corrected in a later report.


Incident Response Documents

Summary 1991-Mar-06
Behavior of Oil 1991-Mar-06
USCG Case History 1991-Mar-06
References 1991-Mar-06
Countermeasures/ Mitigation 1991-Mar-06
Other Special Interest 1991-Mar-06
Other Special Interest Issues 1991-Mar-06
Shoreline Types Impacted 1991-Mar-06

Incident Details

Products of concern: No. 6 Fuel Oil
Amount spilled (approximate): 559,000 gallons

Latitude (approximate): 17° 17.00' North
Longitude (approximate): 62° 18.00' West

Counter measures:
Dispersants: Evaluated and applied
In-Situ Burn: Not applicable
Bioremediation: Not applicable