Crabbing Vessel Sinks at Seattle Pier

A 91-foot crabbing vessel named North American sank at a pier in Seattle early Tuesday morning, triggering a response from the U.S. Coast Guard and several other agencies.

The incident was reported around 7:30 a.m. near the Ballard Bridge on the south side of the Lake Washington Ship Canal.

Upon arrival, the Seattle Fire Department immediately deployed a containment boom around the sunken vessel. The North American is known to have a maximum capacity of 32,500 gallons of diesel fuel.

The Coast Guard took immediate action and opened the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. In an effort to manage the situation, they contracted Global Dive and Salvage, a dedicated oil spill response organization. Divers were quickly dispatched to the scene to plug vents and prevent further discharge of diesel into the water.

A secondary layer of containment boom was also deployed around the submerged vessel. Responders are planning to transfer any remaining product from the vessel to tanks on the shore.

Sector Puget Sound’s Coast Guard pollution responders are present at the scene, assessing the area and assisting with the cleanup operations. As of now, there have been no reports of injured wildlife or disruptions to vessel traffic due to the incident.

Investigations into the cause of the incident are currently underway.

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