The Saturday aerial photo released by the U.S. Coast Guard shows a diesel spill off the west coast of Washington state’s San Juan Island after a 49-foot fishing vessel sank with an estimated 2,600 gallons of fuel on board. A Good Samaritan rescued all five crew members on the Aleutian Isle as the vessel was sinking near Sunset Point, the Coast Guard’s 13th District Pacific Northwest district in Seattle and KIRO-TV reported. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP)

The Saturday aerial photo released by the U.S. Coast Guard shows a diesel spill off the west coast of Washington state’s San Juan Island after a 49-foot fishing vessel sank with an estimated 2,600 gallons of fuel on board. A Good Samaritan rescued all five crew members on the Aleutian Isle as the vessel was sinking near Sunset Point, the Coast Guard’s 13th District Pacific Northwest district in Seattle and KIRO-TV reported. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP)

Coast Guard responds to small oil spill near San Juan Island

A Good Samaritan rescued all crew members on the Aleutian Isle as the vessel was sinking Saturday.

Associated Press

SEATTLE — The U.S. Coast Guard is responding to a diesel spill off the west coast of Washington state’s San Juan Island after a 49-foot fishing vessel sank with an estimated 2,600 gallons of fuel on board.

A Good Samaritan rescued all five crew members on the Aleutian Isle as the vessel was sinking on Saturday near Sunset Point, the Coast Guard’s 13th District Pacific Northwest district in Seattle and KIRO-TV reported.

The cause of the sinking wasn’t immediately known. The Aleutian Isle reported it was taking on water about 2 p.m. Saturday, the Coast Guard said.

Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound said personnel spotted an oil sheen about 1.5 miles in length about 5 p.m. Saturday, the district said.

Some of the sheen had entered nearby Canadian waters, Petty Officer Michael Clark said Sunday.

The Coast Guard was working with the Canadian Coast Guard Regional Operations Center, the San Juan County Office of Emergency Management, Washington State Department of Ecology and the non-profit Islands’ Oil Spill Association on Sunday to contain and recover the spill, Clark said.

A subcontractor was placing absorbent booms in the water Sunday to recover visible material, while dive crews were evaluating how to remove any hazardous substances from the fishing vessel and how to recover the vessel, which was located in about 100 feet of water, Clark said.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife planned to activate a hotline (1-800-222-4737) for anyone reporting wildlife affected by the spill, Clark said.

The Coast Guard also said it was working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which was tracking the spill’s trajectory, and others to ensure Southern Resident Killer Whales near the San Juan Islands don’t come in contact with the spill.

San Juan Island is about 90 miles (144 kilometers) north of Seattle and 16 miles (25.6 kilometers) east of Victoria, British Columbia

“We are working with government and industry partners to ensure an efficient and effective containment and recovery response,” Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Brian Dykens said in a statement. “The local public, the environment and protected marine species are our top priority.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Northwest

Alaska Airlines aircraft sit in the airline's hangar at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in SeaTac, Wash. Boeing has acknowledged in a letter to Congress that it cannot find records for work done on a door panel that blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight over Oregon two months ago. Ziad Ojakli, Boeing executive vice president and chief government lobbyist, wrote to Sen. Maria Cantwell on Friday, March 8 saying, “We have looked extensively and have not found any such documentation.” (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
FBI tells passengers on 737 flight they might be crime victims

Passengers received letters this week from a victim specialist from the federal agency’s Seattle office.

Skylar Meade (left) and Nicholas Umphenour.
Idaho prison gang member and accomplice caught after ambush

Pair may have killed 2 while on the run, police say. Three police officers were hospitalized with gunshot wounds after the attack at a Boise hospital.

Barbara Peraza-Garcia holds her 2-year-old daughter, Frailys, while her partner Franklin Peraza sits on their bed in their 'micro apartment' in Seattle on Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)
Micro-apartments are back after nearly a century, as need for affordable housing soars

Boarding houses that rented single rooms to low-income, blue-collar or temporary workers were prevalent across the U.S. in the early 1900s.

Teen blamed for crash that kills woman, 3 children in Renton

Four people were hospitalized, including three with life-threatening injuries. The teenage driver said to be at fault is under guard at a hospital.

Whidbey cop accused of rape quits job after internal inquiry

The report was unsparing in its allegations against John Nieder, who is set to go to trial May 6 in Skagit County Superior Court on two counts of rape in the second degree.

LA man was child rape suspect who faked his death

Coroner’s probe reveals the Los Angeles maintenance man was a Bremerton rape suspect believed to have jumped off the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

Logo for news use, for stories regarding Washington state government — Olympia, the Legislature and state agencies. No caption necessary. 20220331
Edmonds rep’s bill would try to stop police from lying in interrogations

Rep. Strom Peterson’s measure aims to make statements inadmissible if police use deceptive tactics to get those statements.

The exterior doors of Boeing's 737 assembly factory are shown closed Wednesday, March 27, 2019, in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Boeing mechanics in Renton mis-installed piece that blew off plane, whistleblower says

A source says the fuselage panel that blew off an Alaska Airlines jet earlier this month was reinstalled improperly at the Boeing facility in Renton.

Yvonne Gallardo-Van Ornam, left, and Clyde Shaver
Arlington council member to run for state rep against Shavers

Yvonne Gallardo-Van Ornam called it a “little embarrassing” to have Oak Harbor Rep. Clyde Shavers “representing veterans.”

Sen. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, at right, looks over at Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, ranking minority member of Senate Transportation Committee, at left, after participating in a panel during a legislative session preview in the Cherberg Building at the Capitol, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024 in Olympia, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Edmonds senator wants LGBTQ+ history taught in public schools

Sen. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, is the bill’s prime sponsor and one of the Legislature’s LGBTQ+ members.

Logo for news use featuring Whidbey Island in Island County, Washington. 220118
Island County pays $2.75M to former Navy chief shot after standoff

A lawsuit alleged the Island County Sheriff’s Office was responsible for “state-created danger.”

West Beach Road was closed and residents were evacuated during the wind storm Tuesday. (John Fisken / Whidbey News Times)
Whidbey homes damaged, road closed, ferry rocked in wild wind storm

A wind storm toppled a tree onto a house, canceled ferry trips and prompted evacuations Tuesday.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.