The Barge Ocean 250 Gasoline Spill 



CAROLYN A. GRISWOLD, 1 Editor 



ABSTRACT 



On 16 March 1978, the barge Ocean 250 grounded on Watch Hill Reef 1,006 m off Watch Hill, Rhode 

 Island. An estimated 2.6 million liters of gasoline was spilled into Block Island Sound. 



Results of cytogenetic analyses indicated maximum damage occurred in fish eggs collected in plankton and 

 neuston samples in the spill area. Membrane or embryo damage occurred in up to 100% of the fourbeard rockiing, 

 Enchelyopus cimbrius, and yellowtail flounder, Lunanda ferruginea, eggs collected over a 4 day period following the 

 spill. Low levels ( 12 ppb) of hydrocarbons analyzed in the gasoline range were found in the water column at sta- 

 tions in the spill area 36-40 hours after the spill first began. Zooplankton samples collected from the same area show- 

 ed traces of hydrocarbons from the gasoline range as did two species of benthic invertebrates, the sea scallop, 

 Placopecten magellanicus, and the hard shell clam, Mercenaria mercenaria. Twenty-three fish samples representing 

 10 species were anlayzed. Five showed levels twice that of the control sample taken from Fox Island, Narragansett 

 Bay. There was no apparent damage to benthic communities, and analyses of zooplankton communities at the time 

 of the spill and 3 weeks later showed normal patterns of species composition and abundance. 



With the exception of localized damage to fish eggs, there was no apparent discernible damage to fish or in- 

 vertebrate populations in the area immediately following the spill, and although there were measurable amounts of 

 gasoline hydrocarbon components in a small number of water, fish, and invertebrate samples, there is no evidence 

 that this would cause long-term damage to the populations. Shore surveys did not indicate damage to intertidal flora 

 and fauna along Fishers Island, New York, or along the southern Rhode Island coastline. 



1.0 INTRODUCTION AND 

 BACKGROUND INFORMATION 



On 16 March 1978, the 166 m barge Ocean 250, owned by the 

 Interstate and Ocean Transport Co. of Philadelphia, Pa., was car- 

 rying a cargo of 39.7 million liters of gasoline enroute from a British 

 Petroleum terminal in Marcus Hook, Pa., to a Lehigh Gasoline ter- 

 minal in New Haven, Conn. At 0145 h, approximately 16 km off 

 course, the barge grounded on Watch Hill Reef Oat. 41 °17.40 'N, 

 long. 71 "51.50 'W), 1,006 m off Watch Hill, R.I. (Fig. 1-1) Several 

 cargo tanks ruptured and by 2250 h, when the barge lifted free of 

 the rocks, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) estimated that 2.6 million 

 liters of gasoline had been released into Block Island Sound. 

 Because of the volatile nature of gasoline the USCG closed a 389 sq 

 km area of Block, Fishers, and Long Island Sounds to all ship traf- 

 fic. The area closed extended from Pt. Judith, R.I., to New Lon- 

 don, Conn. 



1.1 Shore Surveys 



Early 16 March, University of Rhode Island (URI) personnel 2 

 initiated a response to the spill which included a prediction of the 

 spill movement to determine areas that might become affected by 

 the spill and a survey of the southern Rhode Island coastline. 

 Overflights of the spill site were planned; however, these had to be 

 aborted because of foul weather. Since the USCG restricted boats 

 from entering the area, the area covered by the slick could not be 



'Northeast Fisheries Center Narragansett Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries 

 Service, NOAA, South Ferry Road, Naragansett, RI 02882. 



'Mason P. Wilson, Jr., Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied 

 Mechanics, initiated the response and was aided by Mark Ahmadjian, Shiela Bhat- 

 tacharya, Chris Brown, Gina Garofalo, Clem Griscum, Chris Ordzie, and Malcolm 

 Spaulding, URI, and Richard Sisson, RI Department of Environmental Manage- 

 ment. The survey information was excerpted from a letter dated March 23, 1978, by 

 Mason Wilson to the Conservation Commission in Westerly, RI. 



surveyed and the slick was not sampled. The predicted movement 

 of the spill was predominantly in the southeastwardly direction with 

 the outgoing tide, and some westward movement on the incoming 

 tide. Winds during the morning hours of 16 March were light and 

 offshore, thereby making it very unlikely for the spill to reach the 

 southern coastline of mainland Rhode Island. 



The main concern throughout the period of the ipill was the 

 southern coastline east of Watch Hill. There is an eastward current 

 close to shore, and if any gasoline reached shore, it could have been 

 transported into Winnapaug, Quonochontaug, and Ninigret Ponds 

 (Fig. 1-1). Consequently, water samples were taken at each of these 

 inlets and at Watch Hill. Chemical analysis of the samples taken at 

 Watch Hill and Weekapaug (inlet to Winnapaug Pond) showed no 

 signs of gasoline. Further, marine scientists from URI and the R.I. 

 Department of Environmental Management found no signs of im- 

 pact from the spill on coastal communities from Napatree Point 

 eastward to Pt. Judith. 



Although initially the winds were from the west which drove 

 the visible slick toward open water, by 1 146 h the winds had shifted 

 to the northeast so that the slick was driven apparently toward the 

 eastern end of neighboring Fishers Island, N.Y., located 4.8 km 

 WSW of Watch Hill Reef (Fig. 1-1). In order to check for the 

 presence of gasoline and possible resulting environmental damage 

 to intertidal flora and fauna, an onshore survey of the eastern end 

 of Fishers Island was conducted 18 March by Jeff Hyland of the 

 Environmental Protection Agency (South Ferry Road, Nar- 

 ragansett, RI 02882) and Brian Melzian of the Graduate School 

 of Oceanography, URI (Kingston, RI 02881). 



Approximately 3.2 km of shoreline along the eastern tip of 

 Fishers Island was surveyed and photographed. The intertidal zone 

 included sandy (with coarse gravel) substrates as well as rocky areas 

 inhabited by typical species such as the algae Fucus spp., 

 Ascophyllum nodosum, and Ulothrix flacca; the blue mussel, 

 Mytilus edulis; the common periwinkle, Littorina littorea; and the 

 barnacle, Balanus balanoides. Samples of rocky intertidal 

 organisms were examined for adverse effects and the presence of 



