WHIDBEY ISLAND, Wash. -- Small patches of oil have now been spotted floating outside the contained area around the sunken fishing vessel in Penn Cove near Coupeville on Whidbey Island.

The vessel "Deep Sea" sank at Penn Cove on Sunday, May 13, spilling thousands of gallons of oil into the water.

Curt Hart with the State Department of Ecology says crews working to raise the "Deep Sea" first saw the patches of uncontained oil on Monday.



He says most of the patches are very thin and almost impossible to recover.

There are no reports of oiled fish, birds or mammals, but shellfish harvest beds in the area will remain closed until the source of pollution is stopped.

Ecology now says a pair of crane barges will begin raising the "Deep Sea" off the bottom of Penn Cove no sooner than Sunday.