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Jacob Luckenbach News

27 Jan 2016

Limitless Salvage

Dennis Bryant

Whether driven by treasure hunting or environmental protection, the days of forgotten wrecks, even at great depths, is past. It seems like every month we see reports of long-lost maritime wrecks being discovered on the ocean bottom and treasures being salvaged from great depths. We also hear regularly of oil being recovered from sunken wrecks. There is now no practical limit to the ability to recover objects from the sea floor, regardless of depth, currents, weather, or other obstacles. The only existing obstacle seems to be financing - and costs are decreasing regularly.

09 Apr 2010

Award to Restore Habitat After 1953 Sinking

State and federal trustees were awarded $16.9m for seven projects to address harm from mysterious oil leaks that killed more than 50,000 California seabirds since 1990. The projects will help species impacted by oil that leaked from the S.S. Jacob Luckenbach. The freighter sank in 1953 about 17 miles southwest of the Golden Gate Bridge, but was not identified as the source of the oil until 2002 after decades of leaking oil, especially during winter storms, causing massive injury to wildlife. “This funding will go a long way to restore California’s seabird populations that were devastated by oil released from the Luckenbach,” said Stephen Edinger, administrator for the California Department of Fish and Game’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response.

06 Jan 2004

SF Vicinity Restoration Planned

The National Park Service and other agencies issued a Notice of intent to conduct restoration planning to assess natural resource damages resulting from oil spills in the San Francisco vicinity emanating from the S.S. Jacob Luckenbach. The vessel sank off the mouth of the Golden Gate in 1953 and releases of oil from its hull have impacted the nearby waters and shorelines. The residual oil in hull has now been removed. 69 Fed. Reg. 673 (January 6, 2004). (Source: HK Law)

07 May 2002

Coast Guard Awards Salvage Contract to Titan

The U.S. Coast Guard has awarded a $3.5 million contract to Titan Maritime, LLC, of Dania, Florida to conduct an underwater assessment of the sunken shipwreck S.S. Jacob Luckenbach, and remove any recoverable oil discovered within the fuel tanks of the vessel. The shipwreck was identified in February as the ongoing source of pollution that has periodically oiled thousands of sea birds off the California Coast. The contract award is the culmination of an intensive evaluation and selection process that reviewed proposals from many world-class salvage organizations. Work is expected to begin later this month.

02 Aug 2002

Oil Recovery Project Makes Progress

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Office San Francisco Bay, the California Department of Fish and Game Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) and Titan Maritime, Inc. continue their steady progress on the assessment and oil removal operations from the sunken 468 ft. cargo ship S.S. Jacob Luckenbach , which sank 50 years ago, 17 miles West of San Francisco. Despite the challenges and risks involved with the operation, the responders have identified 26 tanks and spaces on the wreck containing about 132,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil. To date, about 12,000 gallons of oil have been recovered. During the assessment, many fuel tanks were found to have badly corroded vent pipes which allowed oil to slowly leak into the cargo holds.

07 Oct 2002

Titan Receives Recognition

On Tuesday, September 24th, 2002 California State Senator Tom Torlakson honored Titan Maritime, its subcontractors, the USCG, and the California Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) for their success with the underwater oil cleanup of the freighter SS “Jacob Luckenbach”. Senator Torlakson presented Titan with a plaque in recognition for their successful efforts in protecting the sensitive California coastline and the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary from further oil pollution damage from this wreck. Titan has just completed a contract with the U.S. Coast Guard to recover oil from the SS “Jacob Luckenbach”, an ocean freight vessel built in 1944.

05 Aug 2003

Marine Response Alliance Member Titan Maritime Wins Award

the recovery of oil from the sunken vessel S/S JACOB LUCKENBACH. award at the annual meeting of the Task Force in Honolulu July 22. response resulting in enhanced environmental protection. partnerships and involve the public are favored. Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, and Hawaii. 2003 Award. southwest of the Golden Gate Bridge, in 175 feet of water. last two decades. Response, and the California State Lands Commission. contract with the U.S. Coast Guard. the oil inside a tank, and pump the oil to the surface. minimal risk of oil release. The difficult and often dangerous work continued for four months. worldwide. sensitive wildlife will be protected from exposure to oil spills. others in industry, government, and the public to emulate.

26 Feb 2002

Shipwreck Causes Oil Spill

The California Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) stated that the U.S. Coast Guard and the OSPR have confirmed that an intermittent oil spill in San Mateo vicinity has been traced to the SS JACOB LUCKENBACH. The vessel sank on July 14, 1953 approximately seven miles southwest of the San Francisco Lightship after colliding with the SS HAWAIIAN PILOT. The Coast Guard's original Report of Investigation reveals that the collision was caused, in part, by poor use of radar. Source: HK Law