Coast Guard responds to report of fuel oil in Mobile Ship Channel

MOBILE, Ala. — The Coast Guard is responding to a report of fuel oil in the Mobile Ship Channel, Thursday.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Mobile received a report at approximately 12:30 a.m. that a tank overflowed during a fuel transfer at the Gulf Coast Asphalt Company, LLC, spilling an unknown amount of heavy fuel oil on the ground and into the Mobile River.

The Coast Guard has closed a section of the Mobile Ship Channel to all traffic from the McDuffie Coal Terminal to the Cochran Bridge and has established a safety zone from mile marker 0 to mile marker 5.

Gulf Coast Asphalt has contracted four oil spill response organizations for cleanup operations.

The Coast Guard and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management are on scene and overseeing the operations of the OSROs.

There are currently no reports of impacts to wildlife or environmentally sensitive areas in the region.

The source of the spill has been secured.

The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the incident.

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