The Coast Guard says a fuel pipe may have burst when a barge collapsed near New York Harbor in Jersey City, resulting in a fuel spill there Monday morning.
"We woke up this morning and there was just tons of oil, it was disgusting," said boat owner Rich Collins.
Pockets of fuel were still visible Monday in the water around the marina at Morris Canal, a small inlet in Jersey City that shoots off the Hudson River and New York Harbor. The dock connected to the barge had completely broken off, and some of it wound up across the canal and ran into boats at Liberty Landing Marina.
The barge owner, who didn't want to speak on camera, said the collapse was linked to the frigid temperature and ice in the water. But he said there was no indication that the broken barge leaked any fuel at all.
He told NBC 4 New York off camera that he thinks the culprit could be somebody dumping old diesel in the marina, too cheap to pay to dispose of it properly.
The Coast Guard is investigating the spill as Kens Marine Services cleans up the diesel fuel.
Collins said he alerted the Coast Guard hours before fuel began leaking into the water Sunday night.
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"I'm just annoyed this was allowed to happen, we've made a lot of progress with the Hudson River over the last decade with pollution, and now this basically was allowed to happen, it's really disgraceful."
