(U.S. Coast Guard photo)

3:50 PM: That’s the scene at Island Tug and Barge in West Seattle, where the U.S. Coast Guard and state Ecology Department say a diesel spill of up to 1,200 gallons is being cleaned up. Ecology says it happened “at 3456 West Marginal Way SW on the West Waterway of the Duwamish River after a tug struck a barge, causing a breach in the hull of the tug that damaged one of its diesel fuel tanks. Island Tug and Barge and its response contractor Global Diving and Salvage contained the spill with double layers of containment boom, absorbent boom and absorbent pads. The response continues under Coast Guard and Ecology oversight. The tank’s capacity is 9,000 gallons; however, the reporting source stated it contained approximately 1,200 gallons at the time of the incident. The initial approach assumed that the entire amount could have been released.”

(Department of Ecology photo)

The USCG update quotes Lt. j.g. Madeline Ede, federal on-scene coordinator representative, as saying, “The Coast Guard and Ecology are working together to monitor the situation to ensure any further environmental threats are mitigated.”

4:04 PM UPDATE: Ecology spokesperson Larry Altose tells WSB, “The response is winding down, with the rate of recovery now very slow. ITB and their contractor got boom around the scene very quickly. That’s a critical move as soon as a spill occurs. The boom and absorbent setup will remain in place, which will catch whatever is swept from the dock pilings as the tides come and go over the next, say, couple of days.