U.S. Coast Guard and local harbor officials are reporting a small amount of a petroleum-based substance that spilled outside of Menemsha Harbor Thursday morning.
The Coast Guard could not confirm exactly what the substance was or where it had come from. Lieutenant Commander Jason Scott said the amount of substance “was unrecoverable” and would likely dissipate.
Menemsha harbormaster Ryan Rossi said the liquid stretched from Dog Fish Bars sandy shoal to the north of Lobsterville Beach. He said it was possibly the result of a boat emptying its bilge pump as it passed by the harbor.
Rossi said it can be difficult to find the exact source of contamination. “It’s hard to ascertain once the vessel has left,” the harbormaster said. “We don’t have air support so there is nothing we can do to track down the vessel.”
The initial report came in as a potential leak from an offshore wind vessel outside the harbor, but Coast Guard officials found that the source was not from the vessel.
Rossi notified a national response center who took the report to the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard deemed the liquid not worthy of a containment boom because of the small amount.
