By Patrick Robinson and David Rosen

UPDATE 7:25pm
The Justin, the landing craft style vessel that sank on Friday morning has been brought back to the surface after a full day of preparation and seemingly endless delays. The vessel was first sealed (an improperly sealed vent had leaked 100 gallons of fuel) and then righted after divers had attached lines. Then it was partially raised, then lowered again, then finally raised after 6:00 pm to be placed on the Waterfront Construction barge. The crumpling of the wheelhouse where it impacted the bottom of the Sound could be seen as it was pulled from the water. According to the Coast Guard no oil has been found at Lowman Beach or Lincoln park and "A team of environmental specialists has completed a shoreline assessment and search for oil at Lowman Beach and Lincoln parks. There is no evidence of oil on the shore, on driftwood or on the absorbent boom near the shore. The team will continue their search for any sign of oil on the shoreline and overflights to monitor the evaporation and breakup of light weathered diesel ribbons that remain.

CLICK THE PHOTO ABOVE TO SEE MORE - CLICK THE LINK ABOVE TO SEE A LARGE VERSION OF THE LEAD PHOTO

Wildlife has been reported in the impact area, however no impact to wildlife has been reported. Please call 1-800-22-BIRDS to report impacted wildlife."

UPDATE 4:50pm

The U.S. Coast Guard announced it will raise the vessel within a few hours.

UPDATE 4:35pm
A crew boat has left and the NRC boat just dropped some people off on shore. It appears they may be securing the scene for the evening.

UPDATE 3;35 pm
The vessel was partially raised then went underwater again and is now just barely visible above water. The crane has been moving but they are still working on it as the tide comes in. The NRC boat has departed. A large strap is now attached to the hoist .

UPDATE 2:07 pm
The top of the sunken vessel is now visible above water.
UPDATE 1:30 pm
A single diver is in the water and the skimmer has been pulled.

UPDATE 11:30 am
It now appears that the cable has been disconnected to the sunken vessel and it will be some time before an attempt to raise can begin. The Beach Drive Blog reports that "Scupper has returned with video showing a thicker slick north of Emma Schmitz View Point (4600 Beach Drive)."
More photos have been added to the slideshow.

UPDATE 9:45
More activity is happening on the barge, divers are still in the water. There is smoke coming from the water as they are preparing to raise the vessel. The crane is now connected to the sunken vessel. Work is continuing to secure the vessel as only one line is attached at this point.

UPDATE 8:30 am
Another U.S. Coast Guard boat has arrived and now divers are preparing to enter the water to begin the process of raising the sunken vessel.

UPDATE 8:00 am
The U.S. Coast Guard helicopter flew over the scene and more environmental specialists are now here in small boats. A smaller barge is now in place with a crane near the two larger barge/cranes. It is now between the two larger barges.

UPDATE 7:40 am
A new barge has arrived on scene with a crane from American Construction. It is now on the south side of the Waterfront Construction Barge. They are separated by some 25 feet. The new barge was hauled in by a Foss tugboat overnight. There is activity on the Waterfront Construction barge and two small boats from NRC Environmental Services putting out new absorbent pads.

UPDATE 9:15 pm
The U.S. Coast Guard in a press release this evening summarizes the incident thus far and states that "A 150 ton crane barge is being mobilized to be used to lift the vessel from the bottom early tomorrow during daylight."

UPDATE 6:00 pm

Capt. Scott Ferguson, Sector Puget Sound Command, briefed the media late this afternoon.

He said " Well one of things that we did right away was first is see what was going on, second we deploy as many assets as you can. First we deploy Coast Guard assets as well as environmental assets as well and at the same time were looking for the responsible party. Right now we have divers down right now trying to see if they can stop the fuel from spilling more or taking it off the boat completely and that will happen later today or tonight. When the vessel started to sink, the barge shifted in the current and hit the vessel and it punctured a 4 inch hole in the barge and that is why they are using the pumps on board. So far 100 gallons of fuel have bubbled up to the surface and has been contained. We have skimmers on the water right now containing the spill and were also using absorbents and pads to soak up the spill as well. "

David Byers, who is the Spill Response Section Manager for the Department of Ecology, spoke to the West Seattle Herald. He said " We know that we've got about 350 gallons of oil potential, a combination of diesel oil and motor oil, anytime oil enters the environment environmental damage , we don't know how much oil has spilled but we do know that as little as a quart of oil can contaminate up to 100,000 gallons of water. These small spills, even though this isn't a catastrophic event, these small spills add up to the toxic load of Puget Sound. Puget Sound is a water body that is in trouble right now and these continuous little spills have a pretty big impact into the environment. "

UPDATE 3:35 pm
Divers are in the water working to patch the sunken craft. Environmental Specialists will work through the night on the spill. Once it is fully cleared they will attempt to raise the boat. We have a reporter on a 45 foot RBM Coast Guard small boat working the scene and will bring you photos and video later.
A press conference held in Seattle at 2 pm revealed that when the vessel sank the barge drifted toward it and it poked a 4 inch hole in the barge. There is no pollution coming from the barge.

UPDATE 1:05 pm
The Coast Guard is has placed white absorbent pads into the water. The Coast Guard helicopter has left. We have been in contact with the Coast Guard who will be providing the West Seattle Herald with further details and more images.
Our reporter has been in a small boat and gone up close for more coverage. Those images will be posted later. The Coast Guard is holding a press briefing at 2:00 pm and we will cover that event.

UPDATE 12:25 pm
The oil sheen has been contained and plans are underway now to lift the sunken vessel.

UPDATE 11:15 am
A representative from the Audubon Society in on hand explaining the kinds of waterfowl and marine life that might be affected by the oil spill.

UPDATE 10:32 am
An orange oil containment boom is now encircling the construction barge at the center of the incident. The company deploying the boom is called Environmental Services.

UPDATE 10:20 am
According to people with the construction company in charge of the vessel that sank, a damaged excavator on board was being removed and fell, which may have led to the sinking. The oil sheen is continuing to spread.

UPDATE 10:05 am
A white containment boom has been deployed as well as a large orange oil containment boomnow being deployed to contain the spill. It's only about 1/3 contained at this time. The King County Sheriff's helicopter is now over the scene. The second barge with a crane will work with the original barge to lift the boat out of the water. The Coast Guard reports that 300 gallons of diesel fuel are on board in sealed tanks.

UPDATE 9:45 am
The US Coast Guard has sent a vessel to the scene Cutter 873 and the boom barge is on the scene and a boom will be deployed to contain the oil slick in the next 30 minutes.

Original report:

A 73 foot vessel has sunk off the 5400 block of Beach Drive s.w. and oil has leaked into Puget Sound. The oil is being absorbed by soakers and divers are in the water. The incident was first reported just before 8 am.

The Beach Drive Blog reports: "the 75 ft sunken vessel is less than 100 yards from a coveted dive spot called "the rock pile" (one of the) richest ling cod fisheries in Puget Sound." They also report the vessel is called the Justin.

The incident took place approximately 100 to 125 feet from shore.

The vessel is a "landing craft" style with the front end able to open up.

A local carpenter who was working on a house in the area saw that boat was half submerged in the water. The boat that went under was bringing large boulders, known as rip rap to shore for a bulkhead from a barge.

Seattle Police and Emergency units responded by 8:16 am as did the U.S. Coast Guard who boarded the barge being operated by Waterfront Construction.

A boom ship is being deployed at this time.

There is no estimate at this time for the full recovery of the vessel.

Additional photos by Kimberly Robinson.