Crews recover sunken vessel from lake in Michigan

LUDINGTON, Mich. (Gray News) – Authorities in Michigan said a sunken vessel was pulled from a lake Monday.

While crews worked to recover the vessel from Pere Marquette Lake, they said a leak of oil or fuel was seen coming from the vessel. The amount was reportedly beyond the capacity of the absorbent materials the crews had on hand.

The U.S. Coast Guard was notified of the leak, and an oil containment boom was soon provided. It was deployed to absorb and contain the leaked fluid.

The Ludington Police Department said environmental safety is a top priority during recovery missions, and the deployment of the oil containment boom prevented the substance from contaminating the lake and the source of the oil and fuel leak was removed.

Officials said the containment boom was to stay in place for several days to make sure any other fluids were absorbed.

The City of Ludington said it funded the recovery operation and will seek full reimbursement from the owner of the vessel.