SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The Coast Guard, the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources of Puerto Rico, and the barge's owner established a unified command to coordinate the response to a barge grounded outside San Juan Harbor, Tuesday.
The barge grounded at approximately noon, Monday. There are no reports of crew injuries or pollution in water at this time. There is a 200-yard safety zone around the vessel.
Port operations remain unaffected, and vessel traffic continues as normal. The barge currently holds approximately 1,000 gallons of residual fuel, which responders are closely monitoring to prevent any environmental impact.
The barge’s owner is working with the Coast Guard to develop a salvage plan.
“Weather is playing a significant role in this response,” said Lt. Cmdr. Ray Lopez, Coast Guard incident commander. “The Unified Command and barge owner are working diligently to safely remove the threat to the environment. We ask the public to steer clear of the area so response crews can work uninterrupted.”
Responders are operating under a small craft advisory with current conditions of approximately 10-foot seas and 10 mph winds.
The Coast Guard and its partners will continue to provide updates as the situation develops. For the latest information on the grounding and response efforts, follow Sector San Juan.
More information about the U.S. Coast Guard can be found at www.uscg.mil. Follow us on X and Instagram, like us on Facebook.
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