What happened

The U.S. Coast Guard's Marine Safety Unit Port Arthur contacted NOAA's Scientific Support Coordinator on 25 August about an intermittent oil sheen reported at offshore lease location WCB-657 near Bright Bank. NOAA said the sheen was first reported on 6 August and subsequently generated multiple reports to the National Response Center, together with Marine Pollution Surveillance Reports from NOAA's satellite-analysis branch. The discharge source remained unidentified. Because the observations were within the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, the Coast Guard requested operational guidance and began consultation under the Endangered Species Act to reduce potential impacts on protected marine resources. NOAA did not publish a spill volume, identify a responsible operator or confirm that the discharge was still active. The map point is an approximate Bright Bank-area reference, not a claimed exact position for every observed sheen.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.