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Contra Costa News

15 Sep 2016

Salvors to Remove Fuel from Capsized Riverboat

Spirit of Sacramento capsized near Bethel Island, Calif. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Adam Stanton)

Efforts to prepare the capsized riverboat Spirit of Sacramento for fuel removal operations are being conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard, California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Office of Spill Prevention and Response and other partner agencies. The 87-foot vessel reportedly began taking on water September 4, 2016, and sank near Bethel Island, Calif. Several scenarios are being developed to safely remove the pollution threat, which include righting the vessel and removing the fuel, or removing the fuel while the boat remains in its current position.

06 Mar 2015

Richmond Ferry Service to Become a Reality

At its meeting of March 5, the Board of Directors of the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) approved a Cooperative Agreement with the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) and the City of Richmond to provide operating subsidy for proposed Richmond ferry service. The 10-year agreement will serve as the basis of future planning efforts among the involved agencies to support and plan for Richmond ferry service. WETA will now begin the process of securing funding for the purchase of two catamaran ferry vessels and construction of a Richmond ferry terminal, at a cost of approximately $40-45 million. WETA will build the Richmond ferry terminal at Ford Peninsula in Richmond. The ferry service should be fully operational in 2018.

26 Feb 2013

SFPD Receive M2-37 Catamaran Patrol Boat

Photo: Moose Boats

Moose Boats, a boat designer and manufacturer in the San Francisco Bay Area, delivered the 70th Moose Boat built, a M2-37 Catamaran Patrol Boat to San Francisco Police Department. The M2-37 all aluminum catamaran will be powered by twin Cummins QSB6.7L 425hp turbo diesel engines coupled to twin Hamilton HJ292 water-jets. The cabin is outfitted with shock mitigating seating for three personnel, a generous workstation, an array of Furuno navigation equipment, Motorola and Icom communications equipment and FLIR gyro-stabilized thermal imaging equipment with a dedicated Nauticomp display screen.

26 Sep 2011

California: Crews Battle Benicia Dock Fire

According to a report from the Times-Herald, Benicia firefighters fought a dock fire for several hours Friday night and Saturday morning. A boat from Valero Refinery, the tugboat Millennium Fire, and Fireboat 295 from East Contra Costa Fire Protection District helped extinguish the blaze under the dock surface. A Benicia Public Works heavy equipment crew also helped by opening the pier's surface to help firefighter access. Vallejo, Valero and Fairfield fire departments, along with the U.S. Coast Guard, provided mutual aid and helped bring the fire under control by about 12:30 a.m. Saturday. Source: Times-Herald

29 Dec 2010

Texas, Virginia Companies Win Dismantling Contracts

According to a report from the Contra Costa Times, Ship recycling facilities in Texas and Virginia have been awarded dismantling contracts for three more Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet mothball vessels. Esco Marine, of Brownsville, Texas, was given the award to recycle the SS Dawn for about $551,000 and the USNS H.H. Hess for about $452,000. The SS Bay's $397,000 dismantling contract, has been awarded to the Bay Bridge Enterprises in Chesapeake, Va. (Source: Contra Costa Times)

23 Oct 2008

CG, Golden Gate Ferry – Emergency Exercise

Residents of Corte Madera located on the northeast side of the , saw an increased emergency response activity as area responders participate in an industry-led exercise on Wednesday, October 22, 2008. The interagency exercise, sponsored by Golden Gate Ferry in coordination with Coast Guard Sector San Francisco, took place at 4 which is located off the . The exercise was designed to test the Bay Area Vessel Mutual Assistance Plan including agency emergency evacuation capabilities, and mass rescue operations, as well as the ferry system transportation infrastructure. The Golden Gate Ferry exercise allowed all participants the opportunity to test interagency coordination…

14 Nov 2007

Lawmakers Consider Tougher Safety Rules for Ships

Bay Area members of Congress suggested that tougher safeguards might be needed on cargo ships to prevent accidents like the recent Cosco Busan spill that resulted in 58,000 gallons of heavy bunker fuel in San Francisco Bay. One possibility would be to require double-skins on fuel tanks or some sort of partial double hull on cargo ships. In response to the disastrous Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska in 1989, all oil tankers in U.S. waters must have double hulls by 2015. Another would be to make the Coast Guard's vessel transport system more stringent for ships entering and leaving ports, like the air traffic control system. Though the Cosco Busan did not have a double hull…

14 Dec 2006

Chevron LNG Plan Advances

According to reports, Chevron Corp. cleared a hurdle in its quest to develop the multibillion-dollar Gorgon LNG project off Australia's western coast after agreeing to support environmental programs to protect a vulnerable species of turtle and other wildlife. The Gorgon venture, which is led by San Ramon-based Chevron, will provide about $26 million to conserve the flatback turtle, the state of Western Australia said. Four of the projects, including Gorgon, are overseas. The one domestic project among the top five is in the Gulf of Mexico, Cooper said. The cost of the project could range from $11.8b to $14.2 billion, according to published reports. Chevron owns 50 percent of the venture, and Shell and Exxon each have 25 percent.

28 Nov 2006

State Could Require Permits for Suisun Bay Ship Cleaning

California water quality regulators are close to ordering the U.S. Maritime Administration to obtain state permits and monitor for pollution when it cleans the hulls of obsolete ships from the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, government documents show. State regulators became involved in August that hull cleaning was occurring in Richmond without notice to state and local authorities and a later report that government documents show the work left metals and lead paint in the Bay. Now, new documents show that Maritime Administration officials ignored state requests to observe the cleaning last month of another ship in Alameda. No final regional water board decision has been made on whether to regulate the hull cleanings.

17 May 2006

MarAd: Calif. Ghost Ships are Safe

The U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd) says World War II-era ships are safe to move from Suisun Bay, Calif., to Texas scrap yards, a report said. The U.S. Department of Transportation six years ago found the 77 ghost ship at Walnut Creek, Calif., 'an immediate environmental threat.' However, acting Maritime Administration Director Julie Nelson last week insisted the ships are safe enough to move. Nelson`s visit was in response to a request by Knight Ridder reporters who were refused permission by the Maritime Administration to tour the Suisun Bay fleet, the Contra Costa (Calif.) Times reported. MarAd says ships in Virginia`s James River are a higher removal priority. Source: United Press International

10 Nov 2005

Congress Closes Concord Navy Base

Closing down the inland portion of the Concord Naval Weapons Station became final as Congress approved President Bush's recommendation to shut down 22 major military bases and realign another 33 in a cost-cutting move that will save the Pentagon about $4 billion a year, according to a Contra Costa Times report. The station shut down is different from any other base closure experts can recall in two ways: Local officials lobbied for the shut down and essentially no jobs will be lost. Shutting down the base will be a multi-year process that will involve sales to developers and planning meetings where residents, business leaders, environmentalists and others will have input on the land's future. Source: The Contra Costa Times