New Jersey

NJ Oil Spill Leaks Hundreds of Gallons of Diesel, Some Into Hudson

What to Know

  • Hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel spilled from a refueling truck in Weehawken on Friday
  • About a third of the oil leaking into the Hudson River near the New York Waterway ferry terminal
  • It's not yet known what caused the truck to spill oil before the transfer process had even begun

A refueling truck spilled hundreds of gallons of oil in New Jersey, and some of the oil gushed into the Hudson River, officials say.

The fuel poured from the truck just south of the New York Waterway ferry terminal in Weehawken on Friday afternoon, according to a spokesman for the Coast Guard.

The truck was delivering hundreds of gallons of diesel to storage tanks for the ferries, but before it could begin the transfer, it started to leak fuel.

In all, some 300 gallons of diesel spilled out of the truck and about a third of that made its way into the Hudson River, sources tell NBC 4.

It was not yet known Friday what caused the fuel to leak out of the truck. 

Crews were still mopping up the oil Friday evening. Some workers on land dug up dirt to be carted away. Others boomed off the oil in the Hudson and soaked it up with absorbent mats.

The good news is that diesel fuel floats in water, making it easier to clean up than crude oil, which sinks. 

People near the spill noticed an unpleasant scent coming from the site of the spill.

“It does not smell good at all,” Kathryn Kemp-Griffin said. “It’s the eau de parfum diesel.”

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