ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A large fuel spill at a marina leaves some unanswered questions.
More than 100 gallons of fuel poured into the Camachee Cove Marina in St. Augustine which is at the base of the Vilano Bridge.
On March 10, boaters say an oily sheen covered most of the marina.
According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, emergency investigators responded to an “active diesel release” at the marina. The DEP spokesperson said 165 gallons of diesel “had been siphoned from a vessel’s fuel tank and discharged into the harbor.
A 911 call report indicates a person who called said a water hose was placed into a boat’s fuel tank, which then forced fuel to empty into the marina. People at Camachee Cove tell First Coast News the same story, and that it involved foul play.
The boat’s owner was not in town when it happened, according to the DEP.
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office did not comment on the case Tuesday or release an incident report from 12 days ago, saying the case is still under investigation.
DEP placed absorbent pads around the marina to clean up the oil in the water. It’s not clear how much fuel was not collected.
Camachee Cove sits on the Matanzas inlet, very close to the St. Augustine Inlet.
No arrests have been made in the case.