Oil Slick Expanding

A tanker spilled 30,000 gallons of crude oil into the Delaware River between Philadelphia and southern New Jersey, creating an oil slick that has killed dozens of birds and threatened other wildlife, federal officials said Saturday.

Initially, the slick was 12 miles long but had spread to 20 miles by Sunday, ranging from the Commodore Barry Bridge south of Philadelphia to the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge in Northeast Philadelphia.

Also, at least 12 large cargo ships will be unable to access local Delaware River ports for the next few days, as the mess is cleaned up, officials said.

Private contractors were called in to skim oil from the surface of the water and place thousands of feet of boom to contain the floating slick.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials said 50 birds were dead from the spill, 300 others were affected and fish also were threatened. A stretch of the busy river was closed to commercial and recreational traffic while the spill was being cleaned up.

"We're working very quickly and diligently to expedite the cleanup,' said Coast Guard Petty Officer John Edwards.

Two tugboats were guiding the ship to a pier Friday night when a tugboat skipper noticed the spill, said Coast Guard Capt. Jonathan Sarubbi, officer in charge of the Port of Philadelphia. The ship listed 8 degrees to the left at about the same time, he said.

The crew notified the Coast Guard and began transferring oil from the leaking tank to another tank on board. The leak was stopped within an hour.

The cause of the spill was still under investigation, Sarubbi said.

The tanker, the Athos I, registered in the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus, was carrying 325,000 barrels of oil from Venezuela, said Jim Lawrence, a spokesman for the vessel's owner, Greek shipping company Tsakos Shipping and Trading SA.

The nearly 750-foot-long ship, built in 1983, was last out of the water for maintenance in April, Lawrence said. He said it had never before spilled oil.

It was the worst spill on the Delaware River since 1995, when strong wind pushed a tanker away from a refinery dock in West Deptford, N.J., snapping a fuel line that spilled 40,000 gallons. In 1989, a tanker ran aground near Claymont, Del., spilling 300,000 gallons of heating oil into the river.

About one million barrels of oil come through the Port of Philadelphia each day.

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- Oil Spill Shuts Down River

Divers found a six-foot gash in a cargo tank on the Greek-owned tanker that leaked 30,000 gallons of crude oil into the Delaware River, spokesmen for the Coast Guard and the vessel's owner said Sunday. Also, the Coast Guard said 17 ships were blocked from entering or leaving the Port of Philadelphia as the cleanup continues...

- Oil Spill Spreads North

The cause of the worst oil spill on the Delaware River in nearly a decade remains a mystery. The slick has spread north to the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge. Acting Gov. Codey had initially said the port would be closed for about three days. He said that Tsakos would foot the bill for the cleanup.

- Oil Slick Complicated by Rain

A heavy rain expected around midnight in the Delaware Valley has environmentalists worried that a massive oil slick on the Delaware River could cause even more damage along the coast. Some environmentalists believe that heavy rain will churn up the oil and push it further onto shore...

Oil Slick Expanding

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