The cargo ship 'Bonnie G' aground in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, October 5, 2023. Photo courtesy U.S. Coast Guard
The U.S. Coast Guard is continuing its response to the grounding of the roll-on/roll-off cargo ship Bonnie G in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Coast Guard is coordinating with local government partners, including Department of Planning & Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration experts, as well as the responsible party, to create a pollution mitigation and removal plan for the grounded ship.
An Incident Command at Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment St. Thomas and at Coast Guard Base San Juan on Thursday to oversee the response.
The National Response Corp. is responsible for oil spill removal and has contracted Playland Marine LLC to assist with pollution and salvage operations.
The 195-foot Vanuatu-flagged “ro-ro” cargo vessel ran aground Wednesday morning, approximately half a mile south of the Cyril E. King airport in St. Thomas, following flooding in its engine room. All 12 persons aboard abandoned ship and were rescued with no injuries reported to the Coast Guard.
The Bonnie G is reported to have approximately 13,000 gallons of fuel and approximately 700 gallons of lube oil onboard. Additionally, the vessel was carrying six cars, a bucket truck, a semi-truck rig, a trailer and container, two forklifts, a general-purpose lift as well as two pallets of cargo.
Based on aerial and surface assessments, the Bonnie G appears to be stable with no signs of visible oil pollution in the water.
Additional response efforts for the USCG incident include further assessments, depth soundings, risk identification, and safety measures. A staging area has been identified for a dive team to assess the sub-surface area and hull damage. Trained responders are being activated, and the Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the incident.
“Conducting a safe operation and protecting the marine environment are the main priorities for this response,” said Capt. José Díaz, Incident Commander for the Bonnie G grounding and commander of Coast Guard Sector San Juan. “Our goal is to remove this threat from the local waterway as safely and as soon as possible, and in the process keep our local partners, government officials and the public informed of ongoing efforts and progress throughout the response.”
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