Over 12,000 gallons of oil spilled into Gulf of Mexico near Louisiana

PORT FOURCHON, La. — An offshore oil leak near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, spilled thousands of gallons of crude oil into the Gulf last Friday.

WWL Louisiana first learned of the incident from a viewer who claimed an oil spill near Port Fourchon was the reason the Audubon Aquarium Rescue postponed a turtle release event last Friday. A satellite photo from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration taken on that day depicted a “sheen” in the general area.

“The slick measured approximately 19 nautical miles in length and up to 0.8 nautical miles in width,” a statement from NOAA posted along with the photo said. “Due to the characteristics described above and the nearby (NOAA Response Link) Hotline, confidence in this report is High…There were some false positives in the area, which may have blended with the oil slick at its northern edge.”

The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) said in a news release that the cause of the leak was an offshore mechanical failure. Approximately 12,600 gallons of crude oil were released into the Gulf. 

LOOP said Wednesday that a “substantial portion” of the oil had been recovered from the water and isolated barrier islands after the oil port deployed 32 response vessels. The oil port will continue to conduct offshore cleanup and monitor barrier islands for wildlife and shoreline impacts.

“To protect the surrounding environment and support cleanup efforts, LOOP and its agency partners have deployed 32 vessels of varying size and capability, along with more than 250 personnel dedicated to response and recovery efforts,” the port’s news release said. “To assist field operations, LOOP is conducting daily aerial surveillance with helicopters, fixed wing aircraft and drones.”