Coast Guard: 4,900 Gallons of Diesel Mix Collected Near Sponge Docks

U.S. Coast Guard crews continued to monitor the pollution cleanup Friday from a boat that caught fire near the sponge docks in Tarpon Springs.

SWS Environmental Services has collected about 4,900 gallons of water, diesel mix from the water's surface surrounding the vessel Skye Marie, which caught fire on Tuesday night.

Currently all removable fuel has been skimmed from the water. 

Divers from Resolve Marine have been contracted to ascertain how much fuel is still aboard the vessel. 

The Coast Guard continues to send out a Safety Marine Information Broadcast informing mariners to take caution when transiting the area. At this time, there is minimal environmental damage and no affected wildlife has been reported.

The Coast Guard continues to work with state and local agencies to cleanup any pollution.

"I want to thank the public and local mariners for their patience during this cleanup," said Chief Petty Officer Jennifer Thomas, the federal on-scene coordinator representative from Sector St. Petersburg's Incident Management Division. "Please continue to monitor the broadcasts to mariners and exercise extreme caution when transiting the area near the Skye Marie, especially now that divers may be below."

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Related coverage:

• Fire at Sponge Docks as Boat Goes Up in Flames
• Tarpon Springs Fire Video and Photos Ignite Social Media
• Tarpon Springs Aquarium Draws Generations of Visitors

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