20 days ago
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Local and state agencies Friday night suspended their cleanup operation of an oil spill in the San Francisco Bay and will continue the effort at sunrise Saturday, U.S. Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Jeremy Pichette said.
He said the operation was suspended due to safety concerns but the Coast Guard will continue overnight to "preserve the integrity" of the 53,000 feet of booming material that has been put down throughout the Bay to help contain the spill.
As of about 10:30 p.m., there had been no reports of oil washing ashore or affecting wildlife. Pichette said it is possible the oil might reach parts of north Alameda and Bay Farm Island overnight, and in a worse-case scenario reach Yerba Buena Island and Treasure Island.
The spill was reported at 6:48 a.m. from the Dubai Star, a tanker vessel anchored at Anchorage Nine, located about two miles south of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
The vessel, a Panamanian-flagged tanker that carries oil and other chemicals, had a transfer system equipment problem while conducting bunkering operations with a fuel barge, according to the Coast Guard.
Authorities have still not determined the amount of oil that spilled, but the accident caused an oil sheen that appeared Friday afternoon to be 2 miles long and about 200 yards wide, according to Coast Guard Capt. Paul Gugg.
Officials wanted to assure the public that Friday's oil spill was not nearly as bad as the disastrous Cosco Busan spill in 2007. That 53,000-gallon spill caused about $70 million in damage to beaches, wildlife and the fishing industry.
Monique Moyer, executive director of the Port of San Francisco, said earlier Friday the main difference between the two incidents is that oil has not reached land in this case.
The Cosco Busan spill resulted in the deaths of more than 2,000 migratory birds, including endangered and threatened species.
Local oil spill response organizations have been notified about the incident, according to the Coast Guard.
Staffers from the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center and its partner organizations in the Bay Area were at the scene of the spill earlier Friday to assess the situation and collect any oiled animals they may find.
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