Another boat sank into the Hoquiam River on Christmas morning, polluting the water and creating an oily sheen over the river due to leaked fluid from the boat. This is the seventh vessel to sink at the boat yard just north of Al’s Hum Dinger restaurant, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology.

Just after 9 a.m. Tuesday, a citizen reported there was a sheen of fuel on the Hoquiam River, originating from a privately owned boat yard in the 200 Block of Monroe Street, Hoquiam Police Chief Jeff Myers said in a release.

Upon arrival by the Hoquiam Police and Fire departments, responders noticed a strong odor of fuel and the sheen of a petroleum product on the river heading downstream toward the Riverside Bridge.

Debris was floating adjacent to the boat yard with mooring lines still leading to a vessel completely submerged and not visible in the river.

The boat had a 30-foot fiberglass hull, and oil pollution extended about 500 yards both upstream and downstream from the site, said Department of Ecology communications manager Sandy Howard. The department estimates between 10 and 15 gallons of oil were spilled.

A person staying at the boat yard indicated that an old Navy patrol vessel was moored at the boat yard and may have been damaged by a piling during the recent high storm tides, Myers said. The boat had been moved and secured with additional floats, but at 1:40 a.m., the witness heard the sound of rushing water and found the boat tilting.

The boat sank into the river with fuel or engine oil escaping into the water, but no one notified the Coast Guard or called 911 to report it at the time. The owner of the boat yard was not present upon arrival of police and fire units, Myers said.

The state Department of Ecology’s spill response team was sent and assisted with cleaning up the leaking oil. With help from people associated with the private marina, the department deployed floating absorbents around the sunken boat to collect floating oil and any more residual that’s released, Howard said.

As background, the city of Hoquiam has issued numerous code violations and has worked closely with the Department of Ecology, the Washington Office of Attorney General, and the U.S. Coast Guard regarding the sunken vessels at the site and the concern over ongoing pollution of the river.

On Wednesday morning, the oily sheen could still be seen at many spots along the river’s shoreline near the boat yard.

(Louis Krauss | Grays Harbor News Group) The Washington State Department of Ecology responded to a boat that sank on the Hoquiam River on Christmas morning and leaked oil. This is a different boat that previously sank. The one that sank on Christmas is fully submerged.