Tanker Mishap Halts Fishing, Lobstering

Lobster boats bobbed at their docks and fishermen stayed home after a tanker over the weekend plowed into a drawbridge and spilled 170,000 gallons of oil into the seafood-rich Portland Harbor. A Liberian tanker, the Julie N, hit the Million Dollar Bridge, cutting a 15-by-30-foot gash in its hull. Heating oil and the boat’s own heavy fuel leaked into the harbor and the Fore River. The bridge was closed to traffic and the harbor remained closed to all but cleanup vessels. The Coast Guard said until the area is cleared of oil and tests prove the seafood is safe, fishing, lobstering and shellfish harvesting will be prohibited.