In the year 1937, an oil barge named Argo sank in western Lake Erie. Nearly after 80 years, the Coast Guards are examining the shipwreck area after identifying the oil spill. The barge was discovered in late August while the shipwreck hunters went for searching 1840’s schooner.
Last Friday (23rd october), about three nautical miles east of Kelleys Island, near Sandusky, Ohio – after a diving club out of Cleveland examining the shipwreck reported about discoloration of water and a strong smell of a solvent. On Saturday, the Coast Guard helicopter found an area of discoloration equivalent to four football fields.
Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher Yaw said, “a 400-yard discoloration in the water near the site. Coast Guard boats responding out of Marblehead, Ohio, also noticed a strong smell of solvent.”
On Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guard along with divers from an environmental response company, T&T Salvage, work at the scene to spot the leak. Yaw added, “They are trying to identify and secure any leak if there is one.”
The question of identity raised whether the shipwreck belongs to Argo. The divers took a measurement that matched with the Argo’s dimension, which was mentioned in records. Also, there are no reports of the ship being lost in the same area.
Source: ABC News
