All Lake Huron beaches are now open following the cleanup of spilled diesel fuel from the Thursday sinking of the 110-foot dredge barge Arthur J and the 38-foot tug Madison.

The vessels sank off the Michigan shoreline of Lakeport State Beach on Lake Huron.

Cleanup efforts began immediately, which involved Marine Pollution Control and Coast Guard personnel walking the beaches and cleaning up debris that washed ashore from the sunken vessels.

When a 150-ton crane barge arrived from Sault Ste. Marie Saturday morning, salvage efforts began. Due to the weight of the Arthur J, first attempts at bringing up the barge failed. When the Madison was lifted out of the water, a large hole was located near the stern of the vessel. In order to have the tug refloated, salvage crew welded a steel plate over the hole.

As salvage efforts continued, an uncontained oil sheen from the sunken barge was discovered by aircrews in coast guard and Canadian aircraft Saturday.

It is believed that a pocket of oil product escaped the containment during salvage operations of the Arthur J, according to a release by the coast guard. While the Madison tug has been removed from the scene, all remaining oil and fuel aboard the Arthur J was successfully removed Sunday and salvage crews began raising the dredge from its grounded position.

The majority of the recoverable oil has been captured, said the release. Salvage crews removed approximately 3,400 gallons of oily water mixture and 625 gallons of diesel fuel from the sunken dredge.

The cause of the accident is yet to be determined.

Copyright (c) The Windsor Star

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Beaches reopen after fuel cleanup