# Poisoned Water: How a Navy Ship Dumped Fuel and Sickened Its Own Crew **URL:** \ **Category:** Maritime News\ **Created:** [June 1, 2023, 9:01pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/poisoned-water-how-a-navy-ship-dumped-fuel-and-sickened-its-own-crew/66257 "2023-06-01T21:01:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![johnny.dollar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5f8ce5/32.png) [@johnny.dollar](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/johnny.dollar)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2023, 9:23pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/poisoned-water-how-a-navy-ship-dumped-fuel-and-sickened-its-own-crew/66257/21 "2023-06-04T21:23:25Z")
> [@Chief\_Seadog](#): > > The above ships do not constitute all the ships in the US Navy. I think it is safe to say the rest of the fleet does not dump fuel every time they bunkered. So which is it? The navy spills fuel in the water on regular occurrence and suffers no consequence? Or the navy operates under the same strict regulations as the rest of the civilized shipping world and does not send oil over the side lest we all end up in jail? ---
**Author:** ![shipengr](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/shipengr/32/485_2.png) [@shipengr](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/shipengr)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2023, 10:09pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/poisoned-water-how-a-navy-ship-dumped-fuel-and-sickened-its-own-crew/66257/22 "2023-06-04T22:09:52Z")
> [@Chief\_Seadog](#): > > The insinuation was made that the Navy dumps oil (fuel) over the side **everytime** they fill up! A _lot_ of fuel, maybe not. Have things changed in the last ten years, maybe so. Usually you only saw compensated fuel tanks overflow fuel when someone screws up, more the exception than the rule. But I’d say a lot of the unreps I saw at MSC the navy ships would catch the drain-off into a large catch pan under the probe when disconnecting, and then dump it over the side. I hope newer warships have waste oil drains at their unrep stations…and if so that of course begs the question of what warships do if their waste oil tanks fill up while at sea. I’m going to guess the answer isn’t that they rush straight to shore to properly dispose of it. Does anyone know if your typical destroyers have an incinerator to burn slops? ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Seadog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/67e7ee/32.png) [@Chief\_Seadog](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Chief_Seadog)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2023, 11:49pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/poisoned-water-how-a-navy-ship-dumped-fuel-and-sickened-its-own-crew/66257/23 "2023-06-04T23:49:13Z")
How about if you just back up your claim and stop the usual Bob & Weave. > [@johnny.dollar](#): > > They dump oil (fuel) over the side every time they fill up! I have yet to see you offer up any proof that that is true. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Seadog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/67e7ee/32.png) [@Chief\_Seadog](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Chief_Seadog)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2023, 12:01am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/poisoned-water-how-a-navy-ship-dumped-fuel-and-sickened-its-own-crew/66257/24 "2023-06-05T00:01:20Z")
I have no doubt what you saw was true. Quite often when I asked a one of the enlisted why they did certain evolutions in a particular way I usually got one of two answers. Either that’s the way the CPO told me to do it, or that’s the way we’ve always done it. ---
**Author:** ![johnny.dollar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5f8ce5/32.png) [@johnny.dollar](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/johnny.dollar)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 1:13am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/poisoned-water-how-a-navy-ship-dumped-fuel-and-sickened-its-own-crew/66257/25 "2023-06-06T01:13:35Z")
> [@Chief\_Seadog](#): > > I have yet to see you offer up any proof that that is true. Prove they don’t dump fuel over the side every time they do some fuel operation. Fuel/oil entering the water events are obviously not tracked by Navy or MSC, so there obviously would never be any documented evidence. ---
**Author:** ![powerabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@powerabout](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/powerabout)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 5:03am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/poisoned-water-how-a-navy-ship-dumped-fuel-and-sickened-its-own-crew/66257/26 "2023-06-06T05:03:12Z")
Back when the USN had some diesel subs, they refueled in Ft lauderdale and always spilt fuel, huge fines and all the authorities standing by to watch. Trying to refuel a megayacht at same time but cant while they refuel as the uscg in attendance art the sub… ---
**Author:** ![Steamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Steamer](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Steamer)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 10:33am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/poisoned-water-how-a-navy-ship-dumped-fuel-and-sickened-its-own-crew/66257/27 "2023-06-06T10:33:11Z")
Back in the olden days when submarine sailing was an adventure we used a “donut” that floated alongside and all compensating water flowed into it. Any fuel oil was captured in the donut hole and skimmed off after fueling was complete. We believed it was skimmed off, the yard birds towed it away and we never saw what they did with it. Since Lauderdale wasn’t a sub base I guess the Navy or port didn’t care enough to keep one at the port or at the CG base. Fines? It’s only money, taxpayers have tons of it. Just as an aside, a 50 footer was a megaycht in those days. ---
**Author:** ![powerabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@powerabout](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/powerabout)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 2:43pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/poisoned-water-how-a-navy-ship-dumped-fuel-and-sickened-its-own-crew/66257/28 "2023-06-06T14:43:18Z")
lol, in my day 25 yrs ago a we thought a 55metre megayacht was big now its a tender. Grew up fishing in a 16’, 18 was big 25’ was huge. outboards, 200hp was big for years, then 300 for ten years, now 450 and even 600. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Seadog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/67e7ee/32.png) [@Chief\_Seadog](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Chief_Seadog)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2023, 11:53pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/poisoned-water-how-a-navy-ship-dumped-fuel-and-sickened-its-own-crew/66257/29 "2023-06-06T23:53:23Z")
> [@johnny.dollar](#): > > Fuel/oil entering the water events are obviously not tracked by Navy or MSC, so there obviously would never be any documented evidence. But you are the one who claimed some sort of all knowing seeing eye… > [@johnny.dollar](#): > > They dump oil (fuel) over the side every time they fill up! I think we can just move on, there’s nothing else to see here folks. ---
**Author:** ![yacht\_sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ed655f/32.png) [@yacht\_sailor](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/yacht_sailor)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 12:52pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/poisoned-water-how-a-navy-ship-dumped-fuel-and-sickened-its-own-crew/66257/30 "2023-06-07T12:52:15Z")
The sub was taking up all the space at the fuel dock or was the marina reluctant to let anyone buy fuel in case they spilled it with the CG hanging around the area? ---
**Author:** ![powerabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@powerabout](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/powerabout)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2023, 12:54pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/poisoned-water-how-a-navy-ship-dumped-fuel-and-sickened-its-own-crew/66257/31 "2023-06-07T12:54:53Z")
No they fuelled up at a gov dock and as usual every authority on the water was there to watch and fine them. Always a clamity but it prevented anybody else being fuelled from a truck. Cheaper to go nuclear I guess… ---
**Author:** ![ScribblerF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@ScribblerF](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/ScribblerF)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2023, 3:14pm UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/poisoned-water-how-a-navy-ship-dumped-fuel-and-sickened-its-own-crew/66257/32 "2023-06-08T15:14:41Z")
I was on a Coast Guard cutter stationed in New Bedford in the '80s. One summer off of Cape Cod, our ship encountered a dead whale. It was just floating in the water, impeding traffic. Captain had the bright idea of continuously backing up, and then ramming it. He thought that he would get it to sink. Well, he was cutting it up nicely, ramming huge chunks off of it. At the same time that our evaporators were making water! For weeks afterward, we were drinking water that had that “rancid, decaying whale soup” taste. ---
**Author:** ![dbeierl](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.gcaptain.com/dbeierl/32/11833_2.png) [@dbeierl](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/dbeierl)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2023, 12:39am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/poisoned-water-how-a-navy-ship-dumped-fuel-and-sickened-its-own-crew/66257/33 "2023-06-09T00:39:51Z")
> [@ScribblerF](#): > > Captain had the bright idea [![](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/gcaptain_maritime_forum/original/3X/1/a/1a15bbdc995bf29ce6f6692913a1c809ef179f41.jpeg "Exploding Whale 50th Anniversary, Remastered!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6CLumsir34) ---
**Author:** ![Lee\_Shore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Lee\_Shore](https://forum.gcaptain.com/u/Lee_Shore)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2023, 7:50am UTC](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/poisoned-water-how-a-navy-ship-dumped-fuel-and-sickened-its-own-crew/66257/34 "2023-06-09T07:50:16Z")
FWIW I was bosun mate/ship’s carpenter on a MSC supply ship and having been trained on the civilian side, I was concerned about the amount of fuel flowing out through the scuppers during unreps. It didn’t appear to bother anyone else but, in any case, I got permission to fashion blockers. I used the only material I had access to was plywood and hose canvas. No very efficient but they helped. The effort didn’t earn me any points however as they were considered unnecessary and added extra work. I’m guessing they were jettisoned after I left. [Previous page](https://forum.gcaptain.com/t/poisoned-water-how-a-navy-ship-dumped-fuel-and-sickened-its-own-crew/66257.md?page=1)