Coast Guard investigating unknown substance near Kelley's Island Shoal in Lake

Shipwreck hunters think the leaking solvent is from a tanker barge that went down near Ohio's Kelleys Island during a storm almost 80 years ago.

The challenge is that it appears to be a colorless solvent that evaporates quickly once it reaches the surface and visibility is low in the lake.

Divers who examined the wreckage on Wednesday didn't notice any leaks at that time, Migliorini said.

Christopher Gillcrist is executive director of the National Museum of the Great Lakes, which cooperated with the original exploration and is one of the entities involved in the Argo operation.

Initial reports stated Argo was carrying more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil. Paul Migliorini, commander of the Coast Guard's Marine Safety Office Toledo, said during the news conference at the National Museum of the Great Lakes.

When loaded as fully as it was on its Great Lakes voyage, he said, its deck was just 2 1/2 feet above the water line, making it vulnerable to being overwashed by large waves of the very sort that arose during the Lake Erie gale on the night of October 19-20, 1937.

Federal authorities have long wondered where the Argo was, because they knew it was a pollution risk.

There's believed to be no threat to water supplies, and there's no sign that birds or fish have been affected, officials said at the press conference.

The only two crew members on board were rescued by a tug boat after they stood on its side when it rolled over, he said.

No action was taken against the crew for operating the improperly licensed barge in the Great Lakes, Mr. Paskert said, but the vessel's owners were "cited for violations" associated with the voyage.

The sunken barge is located near Kelleys Island Shoal on the U.S.-side of the border.

A group of Shipwreck hunters and researchers are working to confirm if the wreck is the "Argo".

The NOAA report notes that a spill from the sunken wreck could impact the economy and culture of the region as well as its ecology and that, "socio-economic resources in the areas potentially affected by a release from the Argo include lakeshore communities on Lake Erie, as well as state parks, that utilize the coastal areas of the lake". The coast guard is taking step to reduce Argo's potential threat, the release stated.