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Diesel Spills Into Columbia After Ship Hits Astoria Pier

The Coast Guard says a diesel spill in the Columbia River is being cleaned up after a cargo ship leaked more than one-thousand gallons of fuel Friday.

The 1,100-gallon spill happened early in the morning after the vessel struck a pier. The collision created a 4-foot gash in the ship, which was arriving at the port to collect a load of logs.

U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Levi Read said the spill was contained and was being cleaned up.

"It's considered a medium spill for inland waters," Read said. "Any spill is going to cause damage but this is fairly minimal. Diesel is a fairly easy form of fuel to clean up."

A containment boom surrounded the ship. And a response crew from Portland was cleaning up the spill.

Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Amanda Norcross told The Daily Astorian that there was no confirmed reason why the vessel struck the pier. She said it wasn’t clear whether a Columbia River bar pilot was on board, as is required by law.

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<p><br />Petty Officer 2nd Class Mark Campanale, marine science technician at Coast Guard Sector Columbia River, surveys the damage done to the motor vessel Global Gold after it allided with Pier 1 in the Port of Astoria, Ore., and spilled 1,100 gallons of diesel fuel, Oct. 2, 2015.</p>

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Klingenberg

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Petty Officer 2nd Class Mark Campanale, marine science technician at Coast Guard Sector Columbia River, surveys the damage done to the motor vessel Global Gold after it allided with Pier 1 in the Port of Astoria, Ore., and spilled 1,100 gallons of diesel fuel, Oct. 2, 2015.