ARLINGTON – The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and other agencies responded Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024, to a sunken 60-foot vessel at the Port of Arlington along the Columbia River about 55 miles east of The Dalles and visible from Interstate 84.
DEQ, the Washington Department of Ecology, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as well as local authorities, coordinated the response. The Mermaid, a trawler converted into a recreational vessel, had a 1,000-gallon tank that was holding 900 gallons of diesel when it sank.
The Port of Arlington reported that the boat was sinking in its marina around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 13. Cause of the sinking has not been determined.
Updates will be posted here as new information becomes available.
QUICK FACTS
Date of incident: Aug. 13, 2024
Location: Port of Arlington
Product: Diesel
Cause: Sunken vessel
Agencies responding: DEQ, U.S. EPA
Status Updates
Aug. 30 at 2:45 p.m
The Port of Arlington marina and boat launch have officially opened to the public. The port maintains possession of the salvaged vessel and is coordinating with Waste Management for transportation and disposal of the vessel.
Cleanup crews were able to recover more than 550 gallons of diesel. The tanks were discovered to contain mostly water after the vessel was lifted, indicating that the remaining diesel likely dissipated or was unrecoverable.
The emergency response, which ended on Wednesday, Aug. 28, consisted of over 30 DEQ, EPA, and contractor personnel.
With the emergency response concluded, this will be the last post from DEQ.
Aug. 28 at 1:45 p.m.
DEQ and EPA on Wednesday ended their emergency response to the diesel spill that resulted from the sinking of the Mermaid.
The Port of Arlington has taken possession of the salvaged vessel and is coordinating with DEQ’s solid waste management team to determine the best course of action for breaking up the ship and disposing of it.
Aug. 27 at 3 p.m.
The Mermaid is out of the water and cleanup crews are wrapping up their efforts at the Port of Arlington marina.
A pair of cranes – one on a barge and another on land – moved the wooden vessel Monday evening from a barge in the marina and onto a nearby parking lot.
The floating crane had lifted the Mermaid on Saturday from where it sank.
The marina remains closed but plans to reopen once the floating crane leaves.
Aug. 20 at 3:30 p.m.
Cleanup crews estimate that they have recovered about 450 gallons of diesel. More fuel recovery details and improved estimates will likely be available later this week.
Responders are still considering next steps for the sunken vessel. Options include lifting the vessel, dewatering it, and removing oil aboard.
Aug. 16 at 5 p.m.
DEQ and EPA continue to oversee operations to recover diesel fuel and prepare for the next phase of the removal process.
The Mermaid is no longer actively leaking at this time. Responders are monitoring the boat and maintaining containment booms around the clock. As of this update, there is 2,800 feet of boom around the boat. Although fuels tend to evaporate quickly, particularly in warm water and weather, additional absorbent boom is available.
The marina and launch area are closed to the general public. Monitoring of wildlife and Earl Snell Park are ongoing. To date, there are no signs of negative impacts.
Responders are considering next steps with the sunken vessel.
Public Information Officers will be unavailable over the weekend to discuss the event.
Aug. 14 at 3 p.m.
The Mermaid is actively leaking but emergency response crews have contained the source by placing boom in the water.
An environmental contractor has placed 1,000 feet of hard boom at the marina and another 3,000 feet of boom arrived in Arlington Wednesday afternoon from Portland. Hard boom stops fuel from spreading in water so cleanup crews can collect it. A vacuum truck with a skimmer pack and a diver are also set to join the cleanup response.
Information on this site is considered to be accurate at the time of posting but is subject to change as new information becomes available.
Media contacts
Dylan Darling, DEQ public affairs specialist, 541-600-6119, dylan.darling@deq.oregon.gov
Jennifer Flynt, DEQ public affairs specialist, 503-730-5924, jennifer.flynt@deq.oregon.gov
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