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CLAIM SUMMARY / DETERMINATION 

Claim Number: 918020-0001 

Claimant: Hyak Tongue Point LLC 

Type of Claimant: Corporate (US) 

Type of Claim: Removal Costs 

Claim Manager: 

Amount Requested: $4,225.00 

FACTS: 

Oil Spill Incident: 

On December 27, 2017, United States Coast Guard, Sector Portland, Incident Management 

Division (USCG, Portland IMD) received a phone call from USCG, Sector Columbia River, IMD, 

stating that a Ford F-150 pickup truck had been driven off of Pier Two, at Tongue Point, in 

Astoria, Oregon. The truck was driven by Mr , who at that time, was fleeing 

from Astoria Law Enforcement for a parole violation.

After the pickup truck went into the Columbia River, a navigable waterway of the United States, it 

became an immediate threat to the environment and began to create a sheen in the river. USCG, 

Portland IMD worked with Astoria Law Enforcement only to learn that the Astoria Police 

Department did not have the resources to tow the vehicle out of the water, nor did the driver of the 

truck, Mr. However, the Claimant, Hyak Tongue Point, LLC. (Hyak) offered its 

immediate services of removing the truck from the water to mitigate the affects of the oil spll. 

USCG, Portland IMD agreed to use Hyak’s services and Hyak immediately went to work to pull 

the truck from the Columbia River. Hyak hired WCT Marine & Construction, Inc. & J & H 

Boatworks (WCT)1

 for the use of its large equipment and contracted Dive Service, Salvage Dive.2 

The diver was able to locate the truck, which had shifted from its original location, with the 

current, by 100 feet from its original position. WCT used its 65 ton crane to lift the truck safely 

out of the water and prevented any further damages to the environment. At this point, the Astoria 

Police Department took custody of the vehicle and took it to a local impound lot. 

The FOSC stated that actions that were taken by the Claimant and WCT were the best course of 

action, because the closest Coast Guard contractor would have taken additional hours for transit, 

staging, as well as locating the vehicle. All of which, would have caused the vehicle to remain in 

the water an extra day and would have caused more harm to the environment, to include, making 

the vehicle more difficult to locate, as the tide changes.3

 

1 See WCT Marine & Construction, Inc., & J&H Boatworks invoice # 514A

2 See WCT Marine & Construction, Inc., & J&H Boatworks invoice # 514 A, for further information.

3 See U.S. Coast Guard, Witness / Investigator Statement Form, dated December 28, 2017, and signed by the 

FOSCR, MST2 .

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"Oil" is defined in relevant part, at 33 USC § 2701(23), to mean “oil of any kind or in any form, 

including petroleum, fuel oil, sludge, oil refuse, and oil mixed with wastes other than dredged 

spoil”.

The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF), which is administered by the NPFC, is available, 

pursuant to 33 USC §§ 2712(a)(4) and 2713 and the OSLTF claims adjudication regulations at 

33 CFR Part 136, to pay claims for uncompensated removal costs that are determined to be 

consistent with the National Contingency Plan and uncompensated damages. Removal costs are 

defined as “the costs of removal that are incurred after a discharge of oil has occurred or, in any 

case in which there is a substantial threat of a discharge of oil, the costs to prevent, minimize, or 

mitigate oil pollution from an incident”.

Under 33 USC §2713(b)(2) and 33 CFR 136.103(d) no claim against the OSLTF may be 

approved or certified for payment during the pendency of an action by the claimant in court to 

recover the same costs that are the subject of the claim. See also, 33 USC §2713(c) and 33 CFR 

136.103(c)(2) [claimant election]. 

33 U.S.C. §2713(d) provides that “If a claim is presented in accordance with this section, 

including a claim for interim, short-term damages representing less than the full amount of 

damages to which the claimant ultimately may be entitled, and full and adequate compensation is 

unavailable, a claim for the uncompensated damages and removal costs may be presented to the 

Fund.” 

Under 33 CFR 136.105(a) and 136.105(e)(6), the claimant bears the burden of providing to the 

NPFC, all evidence, information, and documentation deemed necessary by the Director, NPFC, 

to support the claim. 

Under 33 CFR 136.105(b) each claim must be in writing, for a sum certain for each category of 

uncompensated damages or removal costs resulting from an incident. In addition, under 33 CFR 

136, the claimant bears the burden to prove the removal actions were reasonable in response to 

the scope of the oil spill incident, and the NPFC has the authority and responsibility to perform a 

reasonableness determination. Specifically, under 33 CFR 136.203, “a claimant must establish -

(a) That the actions taken were necessary to prevent, minimize, or mitigate the effects of 

the incident;

(b) That the removal costs were incurred as a result of these actions;

(c) That the actions taken were determined by the FOSC to be consistent with the 

National Contingency Plan or were directed by the FOSC.”

Under 33 CFR 136.205 “the amount of compensation allowable is the total of uncompensated 

reasonable removal costs of actions taken that were determined by the FOSC to be consistent 

with the National Contingency Plan or were directed by the FOSC. Except in exceptional 

circumstances, removal activities for which costs are being claimed must have been coordinated 

with the FOSC.” [Emphasis added].