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Summary

Important note concerning the NOAA "HOTLINE" Communications System:

Please note that this system is used for NOAA internal communications and the reports are
put in chronologically.  There is NO corrective "post editing" of the reports.  As a
result of this, early reports may have information that later proved to be incorrect.
Sometimes these errors are corrected in a later report, but sometimes corrections are made
over the phone or in-person, and no correcting message is entered.  This reflects the use
of this system as a real-time spill communications system and is not intended to be an
event-log. Please keep this in mind when reading HOTLINE reports for this incident.


If you have any problems with this system please contact the HAZMAT Duty Officer at
206-526-6317.

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Initial Report:
At about 0645 PST 26 March, NOAA HAZNAT was contacted by USCG MSO Long Island Sound, New
Haven, CT, concerning tarballs and tar patties which were reported washing up on the north
shore of Long Island from Stonybrook, NY to Wading River, NY on 23 March.  The oil is
suspected to be from the Tank Barge Rhode Island.


The T/B Rhode Island had loaded 48300 bbl of #6 fuel oil in Bayonne, NJ the evening of 19
March.  At first light 20 March the facility noticed a spill.  That afternoon a 6x1/2 inch
crack was found in the starboard #1 tank of the barge while it was located offshore of
Bridgeport CT.  The tank had held 4716 bbl of oil and was found to now have 6 to 8 inches
of water in the tank.  The barge moved to anchorage off New Haven CT and was lightered.
Lightering was completed 0915, 21 March.


Hind cast trajectories were requested from NOAA, based on the oil impacted areas.