Vessels Sink in Hoquiam River

Two vessels sank Wednesday in the Hoquiam River, near the offices of Timberland Bank on Lincoln Street.

According to Kathy Armstrong with the state Department of Ecology, the vessels, which were moored together, are each roughly 45 feet in length. The department brought in divers from Global Diving and Salvage, Inc., of Seattle, who worked Wednesday night to boom around the vessels and contain the fuel spill.

“We have divers coming out tomorrow to dive on the vessels,” Armstrong said Thursday afternoon, “to see if we can remove the fuel. We have no idea at this point how much is on the vessels.”

Wednesday afternoon you could smell the spill from a block into town on the corner of Jefferson and Karr streets. Thursday afternoon it was noticeable mostly on the riverbank.

There was still some sheen on the water Thursday afternoon. The first photo shows the general area where the vessels sank.