BDofMSP
Guru
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2013
- Messages
- 934
- Location
- USA
- Vessel Name
- Gopher Broke
- Vessel Make
- Silverton 410 Sport Bridge
Hello members,
I thought I'd share my experience from this past weekend, in case it helps others understand or be better prepared for these situations.
Sunday we took a group of guests for a leisurely 3 hour cruise. We had good conditions and a great time. Upon backing into our slip, I bumped the engines forward to stop momentum, which sloshed the bilge contents forward enough to trigger the bilge pump for a brief moment. Our dock neighbor noticed and informed me that I was discharging something nasty into the water. I was surprised to say the least, because I had taken the boat for a hard shakedown cruise the day prior and had zero issues and there was nothing in the bilge.
As we tied up, there was clearly a quite large sheen that was spreading across the fairway, accelerated by the wind. I asked my neighbor how much had been discharged and he said "just a burp, maybe a quart". But I know that even a small discharge makes a huge sheen so that made sense to me. I went to the engine room and was immediately overwhelmed by the smell of diesel. Descending, I was shocked to see several gallons contained in the bilge under the starboard engine, and a smaller amount of fuel and water in the middle bilge (which contains the pump. No fuel was visibly leaking from anywhere, but I shut off the supply valves at the Racors anyway.
I immediately hailed the Coast Guard, and they asked me to call their command center, which I did. I made a report there and they asked me to also report to the National Response Center, which I also did, and called the Coast Guard back (which they had requested me to do). The NRC report was unusual because they wanted to know both how much fuel was released into the boat, as well as how much was released into the water. I estimated both and provided that to them.
In the meantime, the fuel had dispersed across the marina and had raised concerns from boaters on another dock. They decided to call the sheriff, who in turn notified the fire department. They sent cars and trucks, which I knew had to be related to my incident as soon as I saw them. I found the boaters convincing these responders that the leak had to be from the line to the fuel dock (which my slip is on), so I clarified that no, the leak was from my boat and that I had already reported it. Simultaneously I got a call from the Wisconsin DNR (the Coast Guard had notified them) who had a lot of questions. Fortunately the Fire Chief talked with the DNR officer and got everyone aligned on the scope and nature of the incident, and everyone agreed that no further mitigation was needed. I learned from that conversation that booms and mats don't really do much for sheen, just bulk floating product, and that allowing it to disperse would help it evaporate more quickly. The Chief was really more concerned about my comfort staying on a boat with those fumes than any real danger (although he did say that I should be sure there were no hot wires hanging in the fuel itself). He also mentioned that if it was gasoline I'd have been towed out to the middle of the bay immediately, so that happily reinforced my choice of diesel engines.
A bit later I got another call from the Coast Guard because they were very concerned about a discrepancy between what I had told them vs what the NRC had published in their report. Even though I was clear that the gallons were contained in the bilge, and the quart was discharged to the water, they had written that we had discharged 10 gallons of diesel into Lake Superior. I explained the discrepancy and he understood the mistake, and after hearing the results of overview from police, fire, and DNR also determined that no further action as needed (other that their required investigation forms). Interestingly, when I called the NRC to inform them of the miscommunication, they insisted that their description was correct and proper for their protocol, and that I should "calm down". Whatever that means.
Fortunately I keep a large quantity of absorbent pads on board, so I spent the evening using a transfer pump to suck the bilge contents into buckets lined with garbage bags and stuffed with pig mats. These bags and mats were discarded into the designated location for used mats in the marina oil disposal center. This morning the marina manager came down and surveyed the water surface and found essentially no remaining residue. They also sent a mechanic down and together we discovered the source of the leak.
For some reason, the on engine fuel filter canister had developed a crack in the side while we were underway. Being under pressure, this of course sprayed a LOT of fuel quickly all over the engine room. Of course this didn't affect engine performance, so there was no way that I could have known that this leak had occurred (except possibly if I had engine room cameras, but I have neither the dash space for dedicated monitors, nor the willingness to take my attention off the water to watch a camera constantly). I suspect that I must have damaged the filter when I installed it, as I can't imagine it splitting on its own.
My lessons learned include:
BD
I thought I'd share my experience from this past weekend, in case it helps others understand or be better prepared for these situations.
Sunday we took a group of guests for a leisurely 3 hour cruise. We had good conditions and a great time. Upon backing into our slip, I bumped the engines forward to stop momentum, which sloshed the bilge contents forward enough to trigger the bilge pump for a brief moment. Our dock neighbor noticed and informed me that I was discharging something nasty into the water. I was surprised to say the least, because I had taken the boat for a hard shakedown cruise the day prior and had zero issues and there was nothing in the bilge.
As we tied up, there was clearly a quite large sheen that was spreading across the fairway, accelerated by the wind. I asked my neighbor how much had been discharged and he said "just a burp, maybe a quart". But I know that even a small discharge makes a huge sheen so that made sense to me. I went to the engine room and was immediately overwhelmed by the smell of diesel. Descending, I was shocked to see several gallons contained in the bilge under the starboard engine, and a smaller amount of fuel and water in the middle bilge (which contains the pump. No fuel was visibly leaking from anywhere, but I shut off the supply valves at the Racors anyway.
I immediately hailed the Coast Guard, and they asked me to call their command center, which I did. I made a report there and they asked me to also report to the National Response Center, which I also did, and called the Coast Guard back (which they had requested me to do). The NRC report was unusual because they wanted to know both how much fuel was released into the boat, as well as how much was released into the water. I estimated both and provided that to them.
In the meantime, the fuel had dispersed across the marina and had raised concerns from boaters on another dock. They decided to call the sheriff, who in turn notified the fire department. They sent cars and trucks, which I knew had to be related to my incident as soon as I saw them. I found the boaters convincing these responders that the leak had to be from the line to the fuel dock (which my slip is on), so I clarified that no, the leak was from my boat and that I had already reported it. Simultaneously I got a call from the Wisconsin DNR (the Coast Guard had notified them) who had a lot of questions. Fortunately the Fire Chief talked with the DNR officer and got everyone aligned on the scope and nature of the incident, and everyone agreed that no further mitigation was needed. I learned from that conversation that booms and mats don't really do much for sheen, just bulk floating product, and that allowing it to disperse would help it evaporate more quickly. The Chief was really more concerned about my comfort staying on a boat with those fumes than any real danger (although he did say that I should be sure there were no hot wires hanging in the fuel itself). He also mentioned that if it was gasoline I'd have been towed out to the middle of the bay immediately, so that happily reinforced my choice of diesel engines.
A bit later I got another call from the Coast Guard because they were very concerned about a discrepancy between what I had told them vs what the NRC had published in their report. Even though I was clear that the gallons were contained in the bilge, and the quart was discharged to the water, they had written that we had discharged 10 gallons of diesel into Lake Superior. I explained the discrepancy and he understood the mistake, and after hearing the results of overview from police, fire, and DNR also determined that no further action as needed (other that their required investigation forms). Interestingly, when I called the NRC to inform them of the miscommunication, they insisted that their description was correct and proper for their protocol, and that I should "calm down". Whatever that means.
Fortunately I keep a large quantity of absorbent pads on board, so I spent the evening using a transfer pump to suck the bilge contents into buckets lined with garbage bags and stuffed with pig mats. These bags and mats were discarded into the designated location for used mats in the marina oil disposal center. This morning the marina manager came down and surveyed the water surface and found essentially no remaining residue. They also sent a mechanic down and together we discovered the source of the leak.
For some reason, the on engine fuel filter canister had developed a crack in the side while we were underway. Being under pressure, this of course sprayed a LOT of fuel quickly all over the engine room. Of course this didn't affect engine performance, so there was no way that I could have known that this leak had occurred (except possibly if I had engine room cameras, but I have neither the dash space for dedicated monitors, nor the willingness to take my attention off the water to watch a camera constantly). I suspect that I must have damaged the filter when I installed it, as I can't imagine it splitting on its own.
My lessons learned include:
- Report immediately. Yes it bought me a ton of hassle and paperwork, which continues today. But when someone else reported separately, it was extremely helpful that I'd already reported myself and had things underway. I bought a lot of credibility with the DNR especially since they weren't onsite.
- Have a quantity of absorbent pads available. More than just enough to change your oil. Unexpected things happen.
- Be more careful about inspecting my work. When I looked at the filter canister there was a small dent made by the filter wrench. I know I didn't really even need to use the wrench but I did, and I should have noticed that damage.
- Having a 12 volt transfer pump was a huge benefit in remediating this situation.
- Having diesel instead of gasoline prevented an enormously problematic situation, and potentially prevented a life ending situation.
BD
