On October 10, 2007 about 10:45 am, the oil tanker Tigani leaked more than 3,000 gallons of crude oil into the Delaware River – making it a “medium” size spill.
The Tigani is an 809-foot, Malta-flagged tanker operated by Cardiff Marine Inc. The tanker was moored at the Citgo Asphalt facility in Paulsboro, New Jersey. This is the same site as the 2004 Athos I oil spill that leaked 265,000 gallons into the Delaware River.
Protective booms were quickly deployed at the mouth of the Mantua and Woodbury Creeks to protect these sensitive areas. The coast guard was on site by noon time and clean up efforts began immediately. Skimmers cleaned up 2,300 gallons of the discharged oil. Cleanup crews collected oil-soaked debris.
It is believed that the spill was caused by a leaking pipe in the scupper system. The scupper drains water from the deck of the ship and discharges it into the river. The scupper drain pipe on the Tigani passed through the ship’s fuel tank. At some point the pipe leaked and oil from the fuel tank passed into the scupper drain pipe and was discharged out of the side of the tanker into the river.
NJDEP is conducting a natural resource damages assessment. Clean up efforts were characterized by officials as successful. Two oil soaked birds were witnessed by the Delaware Riverkeeper during a review of the spill site.