SAN JUAN — Coast Guard marine investigators and Incident management were monitoring a possible pollution threat Wednesday while the vessel owner arranges for the removal of a 26-foot Grady White recreational vessel that ran aground with five people onboard on a jetty near the Puerto Chico Marina in Fajardo Puerto Rico, Sunday night.
Incident Management Division personnel issued a Notice of Federal Interest to the vessel owner to remove the pollution threat consisting of gasoline from the vessel tanks which have a capacity of 191 gallons. Minor sheening has reportedly been observed near the vessel.
At approximately 9:48 p.m., Sunday, Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector San Juan notified Puerto Rico Emergency Management Agency, Puerto Rico Police Joint Forces of Rapid Action (FURA) and Emergency Medical Services of the vessel grounding. Local response personnel arrived on scene shortly thereafter and assisted the five people who sustained injuries and remained stranded on the rocks. Two of the vessel passengers were reportedly transported to a medical facility for further medical care.
The owner of the vessel is contracting a salvage company to conduct the vessel’s removal, Thursday, and he will be sharing removal plans with Incident Management personnel. The Grady White vessel currently remains on the rocks after just missing the damaged and partially sunken hull of the vessel Emilia, a 75-foot motor yacht, that sustained a vessel fire during a separate incident, June 4, 2025.
“We are coordinating with the vessel owner so that this pollution threat can be removed from this vessel as soon as possible,” said Chief Warrant Office Jamie Testa, Sector San Juan’s Incident Management Division. “We wish the injured passengers a speedy recovery. This vessel grounding was very close call that could have resulted in devastating and tragic consequences.”
SOURCE: U.S. Coast Guard
