Ship Carrying Coal Ash From Puerto Rico To Georgia Spills ‘Very Nasty Stuff’ Off Jax Coast
• On March 14, 2021, a cargo ship called the Bridgeport departed Guayama, Puerto Rico, bound for a private port in Jacksonville. The ship’s cargo was 12,000 tons of coal ash — an industrial byproduct that can contain, among other things, arsenic, lead, boron, and lithium. It was a load equivalent to about 800 standard garbage trucks. On March 22, the Bridgeport ran aground about a mile south of the mouth of the St. Johns River. It listed to the left in about 30 feet of water, its hull submersed in soft sand. In the coming days, maritime diving, salvage and towing companies would assess the damage and develop a plan to transfer the Bridgeport’s cargo and refloat the listing barge. …
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