Crews continue cleaning oil from sunken tugboat

Responders are still cleaning oil leaking from the Tug Tiger, a World War II-era tugboat that sunk on Sunday in the Point Richmond harbor.

An aerial view of the scene where the Tiger sunk. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by: Petty Officer Pamela J. Boehland)

Although there is no estimate of how much oil was onboard the Tiger, the Coast Guard reported that 590 gallons of oil

and water were collected as of Wednesday. Thousands of feet of boom have been deployed around the tug, across the opening of the dry dock and at Brooks Island.

There are 55 personnel on site from the Coast Guard, the Department of Fish and Game, the National Response Corporation Environmental Services, and Global Salvage and Diving.

The Tiger was a decommissioned 205-foot Navy tugboat that had been docked at the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet for years. It came to Richmond to be cleaned before heading to be scrapped.

When the oil cleanup concludes, the tugboat will be pulled from the bottom of the harbor and demolished.

In order to ensure worker safety, the Coast Guard has requested that boats heading inbound and outbound north of Brooks Island travel at slower speeds.

Authorities have not reported impacts on wildlife, but clean-up crews will continue to monitor the area. If anyone spots oiled animals, they should call (877) UCD-OWCN.