YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — The U.S. Navy was fined $5,000 by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority for a USS Coronado oil spill that occurred April 25 while the ship was in Subic Bay, the Philippines, for a port visit.

“The spill was officially logged as 40 liters (10 gallons) by the SBMA Port authorities,” said Cmdr. Scott Gureck, 7th Fleet spokesman.

The Manila Times reported Thursday that Coronado’s chief engineer, Andrew Busk, wrote in a report to the SBMA Ecology center that the “diesel fuel inadvertently spilled through a tank vent [owing] to overfilling of a fuel oil service tank.” The paper reported Busk as stating the cause of the spill was “miscommunication between the pump operator and the person in charge of the fuel oil transfer, leaving the pump online for too long.”

Gureck could not confirm the cause of the spill Monday but said an investigation is being conducted.

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