SEATTLE – The Coast Guard, Washington Department of Ecology and other agencies are responding to a vessel that sank at a pier in Seattle, Tuesday.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound received a report at approximately 7:30 a.m. that the 91-foot crabbing vessel North American had sunk at a pier east of the Ballard Bridge on the south side of the Lake Washington Ship Canal.

Seattle Fire arrived on scene and deployed containment boom around the vessel.

The vessel has a reported maximum capacity of 32,500 gallons of diesel.

The Coast Guard opened the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and contracted Global Dive and Salvage, an oil spill response organization, to conduct clean-up and response operations.

Divers have been deployed to plug vents and mitigate the discharge of additional product into the water.

Responders deployed a secondary layer of containment boom around the vessel and plan to transfer the remaining product from the vessel to tanks on shore.

Coast Guard pollution responders from Sector Puget Sound are on scene assessing the area and providing support for clean-up efforts.

There are no reports of injured wildlife or impacts to vessel traffic due to this incident.

The cause of the incident is under investigation.

USCG