‘No obvious culprit’: Questions remain after Port Manatee oil spill

PALMETTO – 8 On Your Side continues to push for answers about an oil spill that occurred last week at Port Manatee.

On Friday, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Longboat Key) toured the area, and said he plans to make sure the government figures out who’s responsible.

“At this time there’s no smoking gun, no obvious culprit,” U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Michael Kahle said.

Without any answers, the Coast Guard is investigating how thousands of gallons of oil got into the water at Port Manatee.

“Got on scene [and] saw it looked like there was a heavy oil material in court,” Capt. Kahle said. “Fortunately, weather was on our side and it pushed the material and kept it contained within the walls of the port.”

So far, he said 97% of the material has been removed from the surface of the water.