Coast Guard identifies vessel responsible for Woods Hole oil spill

Jan. 31--WOODS HOLE -- The U.S. Coast Guard has identified the Ocean King, a towing vessel owned by Patriot Marine LLC in Winthrop, as the vessel responsible for an oil spill in Great Harbor last week.

The spill, which was reported to the Coast Guard on Jan. 21, left a heavy sheen on the water and caused multiple bird deaths. The total number of dead birds found in the area was 29 as of Tuesday, said U.S. Coast Guard Ensign Nathan Mendes, although the cause of death had not yet been determined for every bird.

The Ocean King is a 95-foot tugboat built in 1950 with a hailing port of Boston, according to a Coast Guard vessel database. The vessel was not towing anything around the time of the spill.

Patriot Marine will be responsible for paying all of the cleanup costs and may be liable for other damages, Mendes said.

The Coast Guard does not have an estimate of the cost, and an insurance company for Patriot Marine is still collecting claims, he said.

Members of the public who believe they suffered damages because of the spill may file a claim with Patriot Marine, he said.

A call to Patriot Marine was not returned Tuesday.

Contractors are nearly finished with the cleanup and need only to move some containers holding the pollutant off-site, Mendes said.

The Coast Guard will continue to investigate how and when the spill happened, as well as whether additional penalties are warranted, he said.

-- Follow Madeleine List on Twitter: @madeleine_list.

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