Liberty Marine Corporation fined for waste oil spill into Puget Sound

Liberty Marine Corporation received a $32,000 penalty from the Washington Department of Ecology for a 2023 incident in which 199 gallons of waste oil were discharged into Puget Sound while the vessel was anchored at Yukon Harbor in Manchester, Washington, during an internal oil transfer aboard the Liberty Peace, a U.S.-flagged 58,107 gross ton car carrier.

The spill occurred when a crewmember overfilled the ship’s incinerator waste oil service tank while transferring oil from a holding tank. The excess oil escaped through a clogged vent system and discharged overboard via the vessel’s rainwater drainage system.

Ecology found that the spill was preventable. Crew members failed to follow established procedures outlined in the chief engineer’s standing orders, which they had reviewed and signed weeks earlier. Required safety steps, including obtaining permission before the transfer, assigning crew to monitor the operation, and responding to alarms, were ignored. One high-level alarm was silenced without being reported or acted upon.

Additionally, key safety equipment meant to prevent overflow, including the tank’s auto-stop switch and overflow return pipe was clogged with sludge and failed to operate properly.

Although the crew recovered approximately 47 gallons of oil from the vessel’s funnel deck and side, no oil was recovered from the water. The required notifications to state and federal agencies were delayed, preventing a faster response.

While no direct impacts to fish or wildlife were documented, central Puget Sound, from north of Vashon Island to the southern portion of Bainbridge Island, is home to numerous species that may have been exposed to oil.

Liberty Maritime Corporation has 30 days to appeal the penalty to the Washington Pollution Control Hearings Board.