The U.S. Coast Guard is working to identify the exact cause of a fuel spill on Oriental Harbor last week
Sound Rivers’ Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop said the slick was light diesel fuel, and the Coast Guard is working to match a sample from the spill with another from the boat they believe was the cause.
Krop said neither absorbents nor skimming would sufficiently remove the fuel, and the only option was to wait for the sun to burn off the remaining fuel.
Witnesses said the spill seem to originate from the area where Fulcher’s Point Pride Seafood trawlers are docked.
It’s not the first time Fulcher’s has come to the attention of government agencies; in March of 2022, the company received notices of violation for grinding paint from vessels — one that was docked and the other in open water — resulting in paint chips and dust creating debris fields in the water.
