Westport-Area 2003 Oil Spill Killed Wildlife in Buzzards Bay

The first (and only) time I went to the beach with former Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank was not a very pleasant experience. It had nothing to do with the company. It was the reason we were there.

On Sunday, April 27, 2003, the Tank Barge Bouchard No. 120 struck rocks off Westport. The collision resulted in a 12-foot-long puncture of the barge's hull. As a result, the tanker's cargo, an estimated 98,000 gallons of No. 6 fuel oil, spilled into Buzzards Bay.

The tanker, operated by the Melville, New York-based Bouchard transportation, was en route to the Mirant Power Generating Facility on the Cape Cod Canal in Sandwich at the time of the crash.

The Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program (BBNEP) says, "The Tank Barge Bouchard No. 120 struck rocks south of Westport, MA when it passed on the wrong side of the navigational marker (left side G 1) at the entrance to Buzzards Bay."

BBNEP says, "A large fraction of the released oil washed ashore at Barney's Joy beach in Dartmouth the next day, but because of shifting winds and rough seas in the days following the spill, oil continued to wash ashore for more than two weeks eventually landing on more than 90 miles of shoreline."

A wide variety of natural resources (mostly birds) was impacted by the spill. BBNEP says more than 500 birds were found dead in the wake of the oil spill.

The spill also impacted salt marshes, rocky shorelines, recreational beaches, and shellfish beds which were "closed for many months after the spill in some areas to protect human health."

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Bouchard Transportation agreed to plead guilty to two charges of criminal negligence and pay a $10 million fine. The company also agreed to pay for the cleanup and approved legal claims.

Congressman Frank was just one of many elected officials, media and volunteers who gathered at the shoreline in stunned disbelief to help with the cleanup effort.