NORFOLK, Va. — Efforts to extinguish the Spirit of Norfolk fire and salvage the boat were in full swing Thursday, as contaminated water used to fight the fire became the focus of the efforts, officials said.
A dewatering pump was put on the boat Wednesday night and has been pumping the contaminated water into tanks off of the Spirit of Norfolk.
According to the city, a barge was scheduled to arrive Thursday that could increase the capacity to remove that contamination.
City officials are making sure they deal with the contamination in a way that meets Clean Water Act standards, they said.
The situation is being closely monitored, and there was no evidence of pollution to the surrounding area as of Thursday morning.
Crews are staying in the area, prepared to act, in case the now-smoldering remains of the fire reigniting.
Once the boat is deemed safe enough for crews to enter, they'll check every nook and cranny to see whether the fire is completely out, the city said.
The cause of the fire is still being investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board.
The vice president of Hornblower Group, the company which manages the Spirit of Norfolk, said his team is cooperating with the U.S. Coast Guard as the National Transporation Safety Board investigates the incident.
"I can say we followed protocol as well as the Coast Guard," said Scott Smith. "More than likely, the vessel will be a loss."
U.S. Coast Guard Captain Jennifer Stockwell called the efforts to control the fire "dynamic" and says crews are trying to salvage what's left.
"Vessel fires are exceptionally challenging. What we have to balance is the fire vs. the stability of the vessel," said Stockwell. "We need to highlight the fact that there were no lives lost. So we're fortunate to be standing here today only dealing with a vessel fire and no lives lost."
She said crews made progress Thursday afternoon and are getting the Spirit of Norfolk to float again.
"We're also trying to figure out how to safely tow this vessel from the Navy pier to the next reception facility where we'll be taking it for a final decision of what comes next for the vessel."
Leaders with the U.S. Coast Guard say they do not have a set timeline of when they can start moving the Spirit of Norfolk over to the facility where they will assess the damage. Crews are still working to stabilize it as of Thursday evening.
