The owner of a propane tanker which the state Department of Ecology said spilled 1,188 gallons of oil into Port Angeles Harbor was fined $75,500 by the agency Thursday.
The Panama-flagged tanker, Gaz Diamond, is owned by the Naftomar Shipping and Trading Company Ltd., based in Greece.
The spill occurred May 19, 2002, when ship workers overfilled tanks during refueling of the huge ship anchored in the eastern end of the deepwater harbor.
Ecology’s Spill Manager Dale Jensen said the spill could have been prevented if ship officials had taken precautions.
At the time of the incident, cleanup officials said about 500 gallons of thick bunker fuel had spilled, with about 100 gallons into the water and 400 gallons contained on the deck of the ship.
There was no explanation for the increased total spillage reported Thursday by Ecology.
When the fine is paid, the money will go into the Coastal Protection Fund, which is managed by Ecology officials.
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The rest of the story appears in the Friday/Saturday Peninsula Daily News.
