gallons of oil into St. George's Harbour while preparing to sail for Hamilton, Government officials confirmed yesterday.

As the cruise ship steamed out of the harbour a huge oil slick formed, coating the bottoms and sides of boats in its path.

Agriculture and Fisheries director Mr. John Barnes said the slick was initially thought to be 600 feet long and 150 feet wide.

But as high winds out of the east pushed it quickly towards Mullet Bay it broke up, forming dozens of mini slicks.

Thick black globs of oil from the spill washed up on the shoreline around Stokes Point and splashed onto the docks of homes east of Penno's Wharf, where the ship was berthed.

One of the worst hit was the 38-foot yacht Alethia anchored off Godet and Young Warehouse. Her entire lower side was smeared with oil nearly an inch thick.

Crew member Mr. Mike Cody said he awoke at 8 a.m. to find the yacht sitting in a pool of thick, black oil.

"It drifted straight into us,'' he said, adding: "It's going to take a lot of scrubbing to get it off.'' Stokes Point Road resident Mr. Alfred Aldrich, whose dock was spattered with globs of oil, praised Agriculture and Fisheries employees for arriving on the scene so quickly.

"They did a great job,'' he said. "Most of the area is cleaned up but there is bound to be some oily residue.'' Mr. Barnes said the oil would have oozed into Mullet Bay had the boom not been put in place when it was.

Agriculture and Fisheries and Esso Bermuda employees deployed the boom at about 10 a.m. -- about two hours after the oil spill.

An officer from the Nordic Prince is expected to appear in Magistrates' Court today or tomorrow to face charges of polluting the Island's waters, Mr. Barnes said, adding the cruise line which owns the ship will likely be ordered to pay a huge fine plus damages.

"It's a very serious offence,'' Marine and Ports director Mr. Ron Ross said.

He said it is believed the oil was accidentally discharged when the ship was pumping ballast in preparation to depart for Hamilton at about 7.30 a.m.

Mr. Barnes estimated the clean-up job cost "thousands of dollars''. He said the oil slick was contained with a 400-foot boom, borrowed from the US Navy, and Agriculture and Fisheries employees helped deploy it and clean up coastal areas. He said Esso Bermuda also helped out by providing back up booms.

And two yachts which he said "took a severe licking'' will have to be pulled up on a slip to be properly cleaned with the owners most likely submitting claims for the cost.

"The biological impact of the spill was very minimal,'' Mr. Barnes said. "We don't expect there to be any lasting effects.

"We were fortunate in that most of the material was light in nature, rather than heavy, gungy stuff that sticks. The weather conditions were a bit hard though. Had it been a nice sunny day most of it would have evaporated.'' He added: "The boom will remain in place overnight at least, and we will be completing the clean-up, probably tomorrow.'' It is not believed any of the oil got into Mullet Bay itself. Environment Minister the Hon. Ann Cartwright DeCouto, who visited the areas worst hit by the spill, praised Agriculture and Fisheries employees for their efforts in cleaning up the coastal areas.

"It is a painstaking, manual job to clean up the mess,'' she said. Mrs.

Cartwright DeCouto added she was concerned about the impact of the spill on the aesthetics of coastal areas and their marine life. She said it was the worst oil spill she could remember.

CLEANING UP THE MESS -- Agriculture and Fisheries employees armed with pitch forks and super-absorbent cloth lift globs of oil out of the waters near a home on Stokes Point Road. Standing on the oil-spattered dock is Environment Minister the Hon. Ann Cartwright DeCouto, who visited the areas worst hit by the oil spill. See map -- Page 3.

OIL SPILL -- A map showing the path of the oil slick as it was pushed towards Mullet Bay from Penno's Wharf by high winds out of the east. It is believed the 400-foot boom prevented any oil getting into Mullet Bay.