NEW YORK – A tanker carrying about 23 million gallons of diesel oil ran aground Thursday morning off New York City's Coney Island. No oil spill or injuries were reported.
Something went wrong with the steering system on the ship White Sea around 6:30 a.m., causing it to turn off course and run into the sandy bottom of a channel, said Coast Guard spokesman Chief Bob Laura.
The tanker, between New York's Coney Island and Sandy Hook National Park in New Jersey, deployed a boom to contain any spills, Laura said. The Coast Guard was lightening the vessel's load and planned to nudge it off the sand Thursday evening, when the tide rose again.
The Coast Guard set up a security zone around the vessel, but shipping traffic was not blocked, Laura said.
It was not immediately known where the leased vessel was registered.
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