Fire aboard 100-foot vessel, La Dolce Vita, causes diesel spill off Florida coast.
The United States Coast Guard is overseeing the clean-up of a diesel spill near Marquesas, Florida, after the 100-foot vessel, La Dolce Vita, caught fire. The vessel’s skipper radioed Coast Guard Sector Key West on channel 16 to report the blaze.
All six people aboard were able to safely abandon ship and make it to shore in the vessel’s tender, escorted by a Station Key West rescue crew. The fire is reported to have started in the starboard generator.
La Dolce Vita was carrying nearly 4,500 gallons of fuel, but it is not known how much diesel was discharged into the water. The cause of the blaze is under investigation and the owner of the vessel is collaborating with authorities in the efforts to contain and remove the diesel slick.
The spill occurred within a National Marine Sanctuary and a US Fish and Wildlife Service Refuge. Chief Petty Officer, Thomas Goggans, Coast Guard Sector Key West supervisor, said: “Right now, the Coast Guard’s main concern is the environmental threat”.
