MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Crews are continuing to clean up an oil spill that occurred on Friday at SeaPort Manatee.
The U.S. Coast Guard is still looking into what caused the spill and this has some local activists concerned and keeping a close eye on the developments.
According to activists with Tampa Bay Waterkeepers, they learned about Friday's crude oil spill from recreational boaters who contacted them.
"As soon as our organization found out about a potential issue there, we did report it to the U.S. Coast Guard," Justin Tramble with the Tampa Bay Waterkeeper said. "Down in the Sarasota, Bradenton area, we've got folks on the water and if they see something, they report it and then we immediately report it. We don't want any of these types of things going unnoticed."
According to a spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard, crews have so far removed around 90 to 95% of surface oil and cleaned around 39 to 43% of the oil ring on the hulls of impacted ships docked at the port.
"There's probably been about a dozen people on site every day vacuuming up water from the port and actually raking debris from the water. Using high-pressure water to clean off hulls and collect debris so it can be removed properly as hazmat material," Nicole Groll, who works in public affairs for the U.S. Coast Guard, said. "There have been about 19,000 gallons of oil-water mixture that have been vacuumed and sucked out and then as for the debris and all the contaminated boom that's come out of the water, so that's about 6.4 tons."
Port Manatee staff and officials are cooperating with the investigation, according to the Coast Guard.
Investigators have sent samples of the oil to a lab for testing in order to pinpoint the source of the spill.
"Then we can try to figure out and match who had that type of oil on board or in their facility or can claim ownership to that type of oil," Groll said.
As of Wednesday, Coast Guard officials reported that the spill still remained contained to the port area and there have been no new oil spills. Groll also said there have not been any reports of waterfowl or other wildlife affected by the spill.
Despite that assurance, local activists said not much information has been provided to them or the public about the incident and they are keeping a close eye on any environmental impacts.
"Ports are obviously necessary for today's commerce and for the economy here in Tampa Bay, but they have to operate in a way that will keep our bay clean and healthy," Tramble said.
"While Tampa Bay is resilient, its health and the health of the communities that rely on it can absorb only so much harm. The bay has suffered record seagrass losses in recent years, even before Piney Point's hundreds of millions of gallons of polluted wastewater poured into the Port in 2021, spreading throughout the Tampa Bay estuary and into Sarasota Bay," Justin Bloom of Suncoast Waterkeeper said. "This oil spill is a major concern, though there is so little information available to the public, we are challenged in assessing its potential impact."
"We are very concerned that the source has yet to be identified. The Chair of the Manatee County Commission has stated that it did not come from the Port but offered nothing to substantiate the statement."
"All the information we've seen indicates that the spill is located at the Port and is significant. The Port and the County should better inform the public of this threat to human health and the environment," Bloom added.
A spokesperson for Port Manatee did not provide any comment on the matter and directed inquiries to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Congressman Vern Buchanan posted a statement about the spill on his social media page.
"While no determination has been made as to the source of the spill yet, you can rest assured that I will continue to monitor the issue closely and work to hold any potential bad actors accountable. Our local waterways, environment and marine life are too important to area residents and Florida's tourism-based economy to ignore this problem," the statement read in part.
The Coast Guard has urged that any boaters who may have come in contact with or who spotted the spill should contact the National Response Center immediately at 1-800-424-8802.