Three Hawaii Beaches Declared Safe After Oil Spill

The Coast Guard declared three popular beaches safe Sunday after crews cleaned up an oil spill, but state health officials said warning signs would remain in place at least until today.

About 1,000 gallons of fuel oil spilled from an inter-island barge last week when it was buffeted by a storm southeast of Oahu. The oil drifted across the Molokai Channel to the eastern shore of Oahu, Hawaii’s most populated island.

The city of Honolulu and the resort area of Waikiki are on the western side of the island, and no oil was reported there.

Black gobs floated ashore late in the week, and the state Health Department advised swimmers to stay out of the water at six beaches, including the popular bodysurfing beaches Makapuu and Sandy Beach, the tropical fish preserve of Hanauma Bay, and Kaiona, Waimanalo and Lanikai beaches. The Air Force closed Bellows Beach, next to Bellows Air Force Station.

The Coast Guard said Makapuu, Waimanalo and Bellows were safe enough Sunday for swimming.

Ninety paid workers and about 30 volunteers worked through the weekend to clean up the oil and oil-soaked sand.

On Sunday, much of the oil still at sea appeared to be heading north and away from Oahu, but some floated ashore at some rural northerly beaches on the island.

“It’s going north on the wind and currents. We’re chasing it,” said Ken Blair of Pacific Environmental Corp., which was hired to assist the cleanup.

Sause Bros. Ocean Towing Co., which owns the barge from which the oil spilled, is paying for the cleanup and faces a $5,000 fine.