Oil spills into Baltimore's Inner Harbor

Oil spilled into Baltimore's Inner Harbor on Friday morning, according to the State Department of the Environment (MDE). 

Environmental officials are working with the U.S. Coast Guard to determine the source of the spill. 

The spill came as ships were in the harbor for SAIL250 Maryland. 

The sheen from the oil could be seen on the water from the Harbor Cam on Friday around 5:30 a.m. 

On Friday evening, MDE said its emergency response division had mostly cleaned up the spill with help from the Coast Guard. Officials will continue to monitor the area to address any missed oil and ensure to additional spills occur. 

This is not the first time that oil or fuel has spilled into the harbor. In June 2025, nearly 5,000 gallons of diesel were spilled from the Johns Hopkins University campus when a contractor overfilled emergency generators. 

The incident left a visible sheen on the water in Harbor East and prompted an expansive clean-up effort. Johns Hopkins has promised to pay for the cleanup. 

In 2020, 50 gallons of fuel oil seeped into the harbor, prompting a cleanup from the U.S. Coast Guard.