Salvage Ops Underway For Sunken Gate City
The Coast Guard, West Virginia and Kentucky Departments of Environmental Protection began salvage operations with the sunken vessel Gate City near Mile 8 on the Big Sandy River at Butler, W.Va., January 27.
River Salvage Company Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa., arrived on scene to lift the Gate City from the water. The remaining oil will be removed from the vessel.
Response teams have recovered approximately 1,300 gallons of oil from the river and 4 tons of oiled debris. Remedial cleanup efforts continued throughout the weekend.
Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Huntington received a report January 10 of the Gate City sunk at its mooring and discharging oil into the river.
The Coast Guard and the state agencies are investigating the incident.
The 2,400 hp. Gate City was built in 1956 by St. Louis Ship for Hutchinson Barge Line, and was originally named Larry Turner. It was most recently operated by River Marine Enterprises, Paducah, Ky., but was taken out of documentation in 2012.
