The company that owned the barge reported to the Coast Guard Monday night that it revised the total spill from just under 15,000 gallons to about 98,000.
"Obviously, the difference is significant, and like everybody else, we want to know why," said Coast Guard Capt. Mary Landry.
Officials said the discrepancy would be part of the investigation but there was no indication investigators were intentionally misled.
The No. 6 heavy heating oil spilled into the environmentally fragile Buzzards Bay in southeastern Massachusetts after an unknown underwater object ripped a 12-foot gash in the hull of the barge owned by New York-based Bouchard Transportation.
The spill prompted officials to close much of the bay to shell fishing and coated some 50 miles of shoreline with thick globs of oil, killing dozens of seabirds.
So far, the cost of cleaning up the sticky substance is approaching $19 million, the Coast Guard said.
The initial estimate of oil spilled was determined by a crewman aboard the barge within hours of the spill, the Coast Guard said.
It was possible water entered the tank through the hull breach and mixed with the remaining oil, contributing to an inaccurate reading, the Coast Guard said.
The barge was carrying some 4.1 million gallons at the time the hull was ripped.
Crews have cleaned up nearly 5,000 cubic yards of oily solid waste from the shoreline and beaches, while on-water skimming operations has sucked up 3,500 gallons, the Coast Guard said.
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