CLEVELAND – The U.S. Coast Guard continues to monitor possible pollution and the commercial salvage of the grounded tugboat Kristin J. in Lake Michigan near Glencoe, Ill., Oct. 5, 2010, following reports of a sheen in the water.
“Shoreline surveys this morning revealed little to no sheen along the lake,” said Lt. Cmdr. Brian Meier, incident commander for the recovery of the Kristin J.
“The deployed containment boom appears to be working well in the favorable weather conditions,” said Meier, of Coast Guard Sector Lake Michigan, in Milwaukee.
The Edward E. Gillen Company, which owns Kristen J., hired oil spill response company Veolia to assist in the event of pollution and ensure public water supplies are not threatened.
As a precautionary measure, Veolia deployed approximately 900 feet of boom around the vessel and the two construction barges Kristin J. has in tow.
Coast Guard personnel will oversee the removal of fuel from the vessel this afternoon, and will approve all future salvage actions.
Kristin J. ran aground on the Glencoe Shoal Oct. 2 and began taking on water, causing the Coast Guard to launch a crew aboard an HH-65C Dolphin rescue helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City and remove three crewmembers from the vessel.
