US Coast Guard, partners respond to oil spill from burning yacht off Marquesas, Florida

The US Coast Guard is currently overseeing diesel spill clean-up operations after a 30-metre pleasure craft caught fire near Marquesas, Florida, on Tuesday, March 16.

The captain of the yacht La Dolce Vita radioed Coast Guard Sector Key West watchstanders reporting the fire. All six people aboard safely evacuated using the vessel’s small boat and were escorted to shore by a Station Key West rescue crew.

The fire reportedly started from the yacht’s starboard generator.

The owner of the vessel said he is taking responsibility to contain and remove the resulting diesel spill.

A commercial salvage crew deployed boom to contain a visible light sheen on Wednesday, March 17.

La Dolce Vita was reportedly carrying nearly 17,000 litres of diesel. However, it is unknown how much of the product was discharged.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.