Historic 1944-built tug Dominion sinks in Bremerton Marina

Dominion, a 130-foot 1944-built wooden tugboat, has sunk and has been leaking fuel and oil within Bremerton Marina. [Photo: Washington Department of Ecology]

A unified command is responding to the sinking of the Dominion, a 1944-built wooden former U.S. Army tug, in Bremerton Marina, Bremerton, Wash.

The unified command consists of the Coast Guard and the Washington Department of Ecology, which was first notified of the incident Wednesday, September 17, while Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound received an initial pollution report regarding the Dominion from the National Response Center, Thursday. It was reported the 130-foot tugboat, contained an unknown amount of diesel fuel and about 200 gallons of lube oil when it sank.

Containment boom and absorbent pads were quickly placed around the vessel. Supplemental boom was deployed to collect the pollution as tides shifted. Vacuum trucks and skimmers were also deployed to collect recoverable product.

Additionally, the Coast Guard established a safety zone from the Manette Bridge, to the Bremerton Ferry Terminal, extending 200 yards off the Bremerton Marina breakwater. Non-commercial traffic is advised not to transit the area.

On Thursday, contracted divers examined the Dominion and sounded the tanks to observe how much product remained.

As of Friday, contractors had collected approximately 900 gallons of product. Two levels of containment boom remain in place and absorbent pads are scattered around the sunken tug.

The Coast Guard has accessed the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to supplement operations and mitigate environmental impacts. The Washington Department of Ecology has mobilized two shoreline cleanup assessment teams (SCAT) and is also monitoring for oiled wildlife. If anyone encounters oiled wildlife, please call 1-800-22-BIRDS and leave a detailed message.

Members of the public are asked to avoid the area of the incident. Trained spill response contractors are working to clean up the pollution. Public volunteers are not needed at this time and could hinder response efforts.

A salvage plan is being developed to raise the Dominion. The cause of the sinking is under investigation.

An incident website has been created and can accessed HERE.