SHIPWRECK ADDS TO COASTAL POLLUTION: Earlier this month, an oil slick was spotted off the North Carolina coast near the wreck of a tanker. The source was determined to be a small hole near the ships stern. The leak was plugged on July 21, 2014, with an epoxy sealant by Atlantic Coast Marine Group (a salvage and environmental services company headed by Lee Sykes), hired by the Coast Guard. Although some disagree, the wreck is believed to be that of the W.E. Hutton. The Hutton was bound from Smiths Bluff, Texas, to Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, with 65,000 barrels of #2 heating oil, when she was torpedoed by the German submarine U-124 on March 18, 1942. Thirteen lives were lost. NOAA has been researching the 20,000 or so known shipwrecks in U.S. waters and last year released a report on their potential for causing additional pollution. The project began after oil spills along Californias coast were traced back to an aging shipwreck. The Hutton is one of 573 coastal wrecks that NOAA originally considered possible oil pollution threats. After further research, showing the oil was long gone on most of the wrecks, NOAA now only considers 87 of the wrecks as potential sources of pollution threats. The Hutton is one of them. Photo of divers over the wreck used courtesy of Lee Sykes, president of The Atlantic Coast Marine Group. Photo of the tanker courtesy of Frank Csulak, NOAA scientific support coordinator. Read more here: thestate/2014/07/30/3592834/divers-stop-oil-leaking-from-sunken.html#storylink=cpy For more about the leak and the threat of future pollution from other shipwrecks see: newsobserver/2014/07/30/4040366/divers-stop-oil-leaking-from-sunken.html?sp=/99/102/ thestate/2014/07/30/3592834/divers-stop-oil-leaking-from-sunken.html For the controversy over the identity of this wreck: nc-wreckdiving/WRECKS/HUTTON/HUTTON.HTML #shipwreck, #shipwrecks #LeeSykes #WEHutton #ShipwreckPollution #ShipwreckOil
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 15:48:24 +0000
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