Tens of thousands of gallons of oil leaked from a barge at a Staten Island shipyard, authorities said yesterday.
Although the spill happened in Mariners Harbor, a visible oil sheen spread more than 11 miles away to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, according to a Coast Guard spokeswoman.
A worker spotted oil pouring into the water between a leaky barge, owned by Boston Marine Transport, and another barge it was transferring fuel to about 11:20 p.m. Friday at Kill Van Kull, a channel of water that connects Newark Bay and Upper New York Bay. It was gushing from one of the port tanks, which held more than 100,000 gallons of fuel.
Employees initially set up a floating barrier to try and contain it, authorities said. The company hired private oil-spill contractors, and is also working with he Coast Guard and state agencies.
The fuel washed up in a nearby wetland area on Richmond Terrace, and may have also affected a nearby bird sanctuary.