The ''North Cape'' oil spill took place on January 19, 1996, when the tank barge ''North Cape'' and the tug ''Scandia'' grounded on Moonstone Beach in

South Kingstown, Rhode Island South Kingstown is a town in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,931 at the 2020 census. South Kingstown is the second largest town in Rhode Island by total geographic area, behind Ne ...

, after the tug caught fire in its engine room during a winter storm. An estimated of home

heating oil Heating oil is any petroleum product or other oil used for heating; it is a fuel oil. Most commonly, it refers to low viscosity grades of fuel oil used for furnaces or boilers for home heating and in other buildings. Home heating oil is often ...

was spilled. Oil spread throughout a large area of

Block Island Sound Block Island Sound is a marine sound in the open Atlantic Ocean, approximately wide, separating Block Island from the coast of mainland Rhode Island. On the west, it extends to Montauk Point on the eastern tip of Long Island, as well as P ...

, including

Trustom Pond Trustom Pond is a closed lagoon in South Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. It is one of nine coastal lagoons (referred to as "salt ponds" by locals) in southern Rhode Island. It has a surface area of , and is the only ...

National Wildlife Refuge, resulting in the closure of a area of the

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

for fishing. Hundreds of oiled birds and large numbers of dead lobsters, surf clams, and starfish were recovered in the weeks following the spill. US federal and

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

state governments undertook considerable work to clean up the spill and restore lost fishery stocks and coastal marine habitat. The ''North Cape'' oil spill is considered a significant legal precedent in that it was the first major oil spill in the continental U.S. after the passage of the

Oil Pollution Act of 1990 The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) was passed by the 101st United States Congress and signed by President George H. W. Bush. It works to avoid oil spills from vessels and facilities by enforcing removal of spilled oil and assigning liability f ...

, resulting from the ''Exxon Valdez'' oil spill in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

on March 24, 1989.

Environmental impacts

Of the many affected communities, one important habitat was the

National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is nearly in area and protects the only undeveloped salt pond in the state and its inhabitants. The oil caused a large number of deaths in wildlife such as birds, lobsters, surf clams and sea stars. More than 2,000 birds were killed, one of these species being the piping plover, a federally listed threatened species. The wind and choppy waters of the storm in combination with the oil caused a rapid and foamy dispersion of the oil into the water column. As a result, a large number of shellfish washed ashore in the few days following the spill. Because of the complex interconnected nature of the marine ecosystem, the effects on one species eventually spread to every level of the food chain in that environment. Even small and uncommon species can serve as keystone species for the ecosystem, determining the functionality of the community as a whole.

Social and economic impacts

Humans were affected by the disturbance in several ways such as temporary loss of the fishing industry and financial strain. Residents and tourists alike depend on the coastal environment for both recreational and economical pursuits. More than of commercial fishery were closed for several months following the spill and some seafood businesses were unable to make up the economic losses from that time out of work. Over a year after the spill, the owners of the tug and barge were given criminal charges because the Oil Pollution act of 1990 had made it illegal to negligently discharge harmful quantities of oil into the United States' navigable waters. The owners paid a total of $9.5 million in criminal and other costs.

Recovery efforts

As a result of the severe weather during the time of the spill, the oil spread quickly to the deeper levels of water, making cleaning up more difficult and the skimming method less effective. Several organizations worked together to create a restoration plan following the spill. The primary organizations involved were the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...

, the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is a List of federal agencies in the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior which oversees the management of fish, wildlife, ...

, the

Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) is a Rhode Island state government agency charged with supervising and controlling the protection, development, planning, and utilization of the natural resources of the state, incl ...

, and the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

. Captain Patrick A. Turlo was the commander on science for the Coast Guard. This was the first oil spill whose damages were to be assessed by the new federal regulations of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, a law designed to compensate the public for losses resulting from an oil spill. Projects included restocking wildlife populations and protecting and enhancing their habitats. The total project cost was $117 million. This incident and other disturbances have illustrated the need to improve both the ecological and social resilience of coastal environments. Many organizations were involved to find a solution to the disaster, and to find a way to clean up all the oil from the deep levels of the sound.

References

{{Coord, 41, 22, 7, N, 71, 34, 37, W, type:event_region:US-RI, display=title 1996 disasters in the United States 1996 in Rhode Island 1996 in the environment Disasters in Rhode Island Environment of Rhode Island January 1996 in the United States Maritime incidents in 1996 Maritime incidents in the United States Oil spills in the United States South Kingstown, Rhode Island Washington County, Rhode Island

Environmental impacts

Social and economic impacts

Recovery efforts

See also

References