Date of incident: January 7, 1994.
Location: Punta Escambron, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Trustees:
Case Status: Implementation of the Final Restoration Plan.
Overview: Before dawn on January 7,
1994, the Morris J. Berman—a 302-foot-long, 90-foot-wide barge,
loaded with 1.5 million gallons of no. 6 fuel oil—drifted aground
near San Juan, Puerto Rico, after its tow line broke from the tug
Emily S.
The grounding ruptured seven of the barge’s nine holding tanks and resulted in release of approximately
800,000 gallons of fuel oil into nearshore waters, including those adjacent to
the San Juan National Historic Site. From January 8 until January 12,
lightering operations removed oil from the barge.
On January 15, 1994, after lightering most of the remaining oil from the barge, the U.S. Coast Guard
(Coast Guard) refloated, transported, and then scuttled the barge in 6,123 feet
of water at a former munitions disposal site located 23 miles north-northeast
of San Juan.
The Coast Guard estimated that a secondary release of between 85,000 and 125,000 gallons of an oil-water
mixture occurred during refloating and towing operations, resulting in patchy
oil and sheens over a 20-mile stretch of offshore waters.
An additional 160,000 to 200,000 gallons of oil sank with the barge. For several weeks after the
scuttling, this secondary release of oil continued from the sunken barge and
formed oily slicks and scattered tarballs. This oil eventually spread along
much of the northern and northwestern coast of Puerto Rico.
In April of 2007 the Trustees finalized the Restoration Plan to compensate for the injuries caused by
the spill and restoration efforts are currently underway.
