Governor: Removal of barge will happen when sea conditions improve
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 9 hours ago
- 2 min read
By THE STAR STAFF
The removal of a fuel barge that ran aground in San Juan Bay near El Morro will depend on improved sea conditions, due to the strong waves that were hindering efforts to remove it from the entrance to the bay, Gov. Jenniffer González Colón said Tuesday.
“The waves are 10 to 12 feet high, so that makes it difficult to remove,” the governor told reporters at a press conference in Manatí. “They are estimating that weather conditions should improve by Wednesday or Thursday, God willing, so that they can carry out the removal.”
González Colón noted that the 256-foot-long barge was not carrying fuel cargo. The president of the company that owns the vessel, Harbor Bunkering, said Monday that the barge was empty when it ran aground.
“Thank God it was empty,” the governor said. “It was coming to refuel in Puerto Rico, coming from St. Thomas. Obviously, it was empty, but it has residual diesel fuel on the upper deck, on the surface of the vessel, for pump operations. It’s not fuel cargo.”
González Colón said the Coast Guard is in charge of handling the incident and pointed out with relief that the stranded vessel has a double hull.
Earlier on Tuesday, Rep. José Aponte Hernández, who chairs the Committee on Federal and Veterans Affairs in the island House of Representatives, said he will be evaluating the situation going forward.
“Although preliminary data points to a broken tow cable as the cause of the incident, the truth is that we don’t really know why it happened,” Aponte Hernández said. “However, we are closely monitoring the situation, including the barge removal process, as well as any potential fuel spill at the entrance to San Juan Bay.”
The veteran legislator added that the accident “confirms our insistence on requiring the highest safety measures for navigation near and within the bay, including the appropriate use and number of tugboats.”
“This committee will study yesterday afternoon’s incident in great detail,” he said.