Fuel leak temporarily closed SSA terminal loading area

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The Steamship Authority loading and taxi lot adjacent to the bus rotary in Vineyard Haven was closed Wednesday morning after diesel fuel leaked from a trailer truck.

“A truck came down before 6 am with a damaged fuel tank, leaked fuel, someone smelled it, we came out and saw it, closed the lot and the Department of Public Works put sand down to absorb the fuel,” SSA terminal manager Richard Clark said in a conversation with The Times.

The sanded area was surrounded by police tape and orange cones. Fuel was visible in the sand and trace amounts were present in the harbor next to the SSA terminal.

“Moran Environmental is coming on the 10:45 am boat from Woods Hole to clean it up,” said Mr. Clark. “It was only a few gallons, but because of the rain we covered a wide area with the sand just to be safe. In a couple hours it’ll be like nothing happened.”

Tisbury police said that the truck driver was not at fault and returned to the Carroll’s trucking yard. Town officials assessed the spill and reported it to the Coast Guard National Response Center.