Navy says it has finished initial cleanup of destroyer’s diesel fuel spill in Seattle

The Navy said late Thursday that crews have completed the preliminary cleanup of a 2,000-gallon diesel fuel spill from the destroyer USS Sampson in Puget Sound near Seattle.

“Initial recovery operations have concluded, with the response shifting into a monitoring phase, which includes replacement of absorbent materials as needed,” said Liane Nakahara, a Navy Northwest spokesperson, the regional public affairs office in Silverdale, Wash. “No additional observations of oil sheen have been reported outside of the boom around the ship.”

Sampson, an Arleigh Burke-class Flight IIA guided missile destroyer, was at Vigor Shipyard at Harbor Island near the Seattle waterfront on Elliott Bay for maintenance work. The ship is homeported at Naval Station Everett just north of Seattle.

The Washington State Department of Ecology said that a hose being used to siphon excess diesel fuel from the ship to a holding tank malfunctioned, spilling what was originally believed to be about 5,000 gallons into Puget Sound. The estimate was later lowered to just over 2,000 gallons.

An Arleigh Burke-class destroyer can carry up to 450,000 gallons of diesel fuel in six tanks aboard ship, according to the Navy.

An oil containment boom placed around the ship prior to work beginning kept the fuel from spreading, though workers reported Tuesday seeing an oily sheen on the water just beyond the device.

The Navy said it would continue to work with state crews, the Coast Guard, Vigor Shipyard and other spill response partners.

The cause of the spill remains under investigation.

The Navy introduced the Arleigh Burke destroyer in 1991 and now operates 75, the largest class of surface combatants in the U.S. fleet.

The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Sampson (DDG-102) was commissioned in 2007. It has a length of just under 510 feet, a beam of 66 feet and a displacement of 9,800 tons. When deployed, it has a crew of more than 355 officers and sailors. The diesel fuel powers four General Electric LM2500 gas turbines, generating about 100,000 horsepower to turn two propeller shafts, giving the destroyer a speed in excess of 30 knots.

The current USS Sampson is the fourth Navy destroyer named for Rear Adm. William Thomas Sampson, commander of the U.S. North Atlantic Squadron during the Spanish-American War of 1898.