Office Of Spill Prevention And Response News

The Unified Command concluded its response to an oil sheen observed offshore of Huntington Beach, California on Monday, but the source of the oil remains unclear.Over the weekend, cleanup crews recovered approximately 85 gallons of product from offshore recovery efforts and removed roughly 1,050 pounds of oily waste/sand and tar balls from the shoreline.The U.S. Coast Guard and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Office of Spill Prevention and Response (CDFW-OSPR) collected samples from the offshore sheen and tar balls along the shoreline to help determine the source of the oil.

Petroleum product and hazardous material have been removed from a 1940s era military tugboat that sunk in California, the U.S. Coast Guard said.A Unified Command and its contractors completed lightering efforts from the tug Mazapeta, Wednesday.The Mazapeta sunk September 4, 2023, in Little Potato Slough within the San Joaquin Delta, northwest of Stockton, with approximately 1,600 gallons of diesel and engine oil reported to be onboard at the time of the incident.Quantification of recovered product is ongoing…

Salvors are set to begin removing fuel from a 1940s era military tugboat that sunk in California last year, the U.S. Coast Guard said.The Mazapeta sunk September 4, 2023, in Little Potato Slough within the San Joaquin Delta, northwest of Stockton, Calif. with approximately 1,600 gallons of diesel and engine oil were reported onboard at the time of the incident.To date approximately 593 gallons of petroleum product have been recovered from inside the containment boom area, which surrounds the sunken tug.

A salvage team has refloated a charter fishing vessel that sank near California's Santa Cruz Island.Overseen by the U.S. Coast Guard and the California Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR), the salvage operation included underwater assessment, refloating, stabilization and the safe transfer of the vessel to harbor. The operation was led by a seasoned salvage master and supported by a crew of four experienced salvage technicians and divers.Two dedicated recovery vessels equipped with lift bags, dewatering equipment and custom rigging were brought in to handle the vessel recovery.

A Singapore-flagged containership went adrift after losing engine power off the coast of California, the U.S. Coast Guard said.The crew of the 564-foot Wan Hai 176 told Coast Guard Sector San Francisco watchstanders that the ship started drifting as the result of mechanical problems on Friday. The ship has 21 people on board, and no injuries have been reported. The Coast Guard, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Office of Spill Prevention and Response and Marin County…

The company that operates the pipeline that spilled an estimated 3,000 barrels of oil into the Pacific Ocean off California has an 800-page manual on handling an oil spill - but it is unclear whether its employees followed those procedures.Houston-based Amplify Energy Corp and several state and federal regulatory agencies have provided differing accounts of what happened on Oct. 2, when the pipeline spill that fouled beaches, killed wildlife, and closed down fishing along miles of coastline was officially reported.The U.S.

Responders are working to remove fuel from the tanks of a 56-foot commercial fishing vessel that ran aground near California’s Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary on Sunday.The grounded vessel, Pacific Quest, is broken up and beached near Seymour Marine Discovery Center in Santa Cruz., with a maximum potential capacity of 1,200 gallons of diesel on board, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.The captain of the fishing vessel contacted Coast Guard Sector San Francisco watchstanders at approximately 2 a.m. Sunday, reporting that his vessel ran aground with only himself and his dog aboard.

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.

The Coast Guard and California Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response are continuing their investigation of an oil spill that occurred on Sunday in the Los Angeles Harbor. A unified command has been established that includes the Coast Guard, California Fish and Wildlife, and the responsible party. Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach command center received a report at 6:30 p.m., Sunday, of an unknown quantity of oil in the vicinity of the 577-foot cargo ship, Istra Ace. The ship was reported to have been leaking heavy fuel in the Cerritos channel at Berth 198. Oil was also observed throughout portions of Cerritos Channel, where booming strategies have been employed.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard issued a joint federal Clean Water Act order to ensure the cleanup of heavy crude oil leaked from a pipeline near Refugio State Beach, Santa Barbara County, Calif. The order requires Plains Pipeline, L.P. (a.k.a. Plains All American Pipeline), the pipeline owner and operator, to continue its cleanup work inland, beachside, and in the ocean, to contain the oil and prevent further shoreline contamination. Today’s…

Approximately 33 gallons of heavy fuel oil was spilled during bunkering operations at an anchorage inside the Port of Long Beach Saturday morning, The U.S. Coast Guard reported.   The U.S. Coast Guard, state of California, and response crews are responding. A boom has been set-up to contain the spill and commercial cleaning crews are on-scene.   California's Department of Fish and Wildlife, Office of Spill Prevention and Response personnel are on-scene monitoring the operations, as well as Coast Guard pollution responders.

While the investigation is still fresh regarding the sinking and the tragic loss of life of the South Korean ferry Sewol, early reports point to a multitude of potential problems, including a critical breakdown among the crew. As work continues to secure the ship and recover the remaining dead onboard, Maritime Reporter & Engineering News reached out to maritime training and education experts for insights on that sector’s role in helping to reduce the risk of disaster at sea.

Nearly 250 first responders participated in a National Preparedness Response Exercise Program in Los Angeles including U.S. Coast Guard, Chevron, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Office of Spill Prevention and Response, NOAA, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Los Angeles County Fire Department, El Segundo Fire Department, Oiled Wildlife Care Network, Marine Spill Response Corporation, National Response Corporation, The Response Group, CardnoEntrix, Clean Harbors, Environmental Science Services and Gallagher Marine. Several other local first responders attended the exercise as observers, May 14, 2013. The National Preparedness for Response Exercise Program (PREP) is designed to test oil spill response plans of certain vessels and facilities.

The Coast Guard rescued four people from a liferaft after their tugboat sank. The Coast Guard received a distress called from the tug Delta Captain at 2:55 p.m. Saturday and immediately launched rescue crews; a 47-foot Motor Life Boat from Coast Guard Station Monterey, the Coast Guard Cutter Sockeye — an 87-foot Coastal Patrol Boat homeported in Bodega Bay — and an HH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco. The rescue helicopter crew located the survivors of the Delta Captain and deployed a rescue swimmer to hoist them aboard. All four were transported to shore in Monterey and transferred to awaiting emergency medical technicians. There were no reports of injuries. The tug Delta Captain sank and may still be attached via towline to the barge.

The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued four people from a life raft after their tugboat sank in a towing operation off California near Big Sur. The Coast Guard state that they received a distress called from the tug Delta Captain at 2:55 p.m. Saturday and immediately launched rescue crews; a 47-foot Motor Life Boat from Coast Guard Station Monterey, the Coast Guard Cutter Sockeye — an 87-foot Coastal Patrol Boat homeported in Bodega Bay — and an HH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco. The rescue helicopter crew located the survivors of the Delta Captain and deployed a rescue swimmer to hoist them aboard. All four were transported to shore in Monterey, and transferred to awaiting emergency medical technicians. There were no reports of injuries.

Final Restoration Plan Completed for Cosco Busan Oil Spill; Projects will Address Impacts from Ship that Struck the Bay Bridge. State and federal trustee agencies have released the Cosco Busan Oil Spill Final Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan. The document summarizes the injuries to wildlife, habitat, and recreational uses from the oil spill that occurred on Nov. 7, 2007. It also describes a number of restoration projects that will be implemented to compensate for injuries from the spill.

After 11 days of survey and sampling, using both the latest in technology and physical sampling it was determined that no oil remains on the SS Montebello. The on-scene assessment of the sunken World War II tanker S.S. Montebello is nearly complete off the coast of Cambria, CA. The unified command, led by the Coast Guard and California Department of Fish and Game's Office of Spill Prevention and Response, has determined that there is no substantial oil threat from the Montebello to the surrounding waters and shorelines. The S.S. Montebello sank after a Japanese submarine torpedoed the large oil tanker on December 23, 1941. The vessel broke apart landing upright with her bow separated from the majority of the wreckage.

Physical sampling determined that no oil remains after 70 years. After 11 days of survey and sampling, using both the latest in technology and physical sampling it was determined that no oil remains on the SS Montebello. The on-scene assessment of the sunken World War II tanker S.S. Montebello is nearly complete off the coast of Cambria, CA. The unified command, led by the Coast Guard and California Department of Fish and Game's Office of Spill Prevention and Response, has determined that there is no substantial oil threat from the Montebello to the surrounding waters and shorelines. The S.S. Montebello sank after a Japanese submarine torpedoed the large oil tanker on December 23, 1941. The vessel broke apart landing upright with her bow separated from the majority of the wreckage.

Global Diving and Salvage Inc. has been contracted by the United States Coast Guard to determine if oil is present aboard the sunken ship S.S. Montebello, which sits 900 feet below the ocean surface approximately 6.5 miles off the coast of Cambria, California. The S.S. Montebello sank after a Japanese submarine torpedoed the large oil tanker on December 23, 1941. The vessel broke apart landing upright with her bow separated from the majority of the wreckage. To date, no signs of leakage have been detected, and from previous visual inspections by submarine, the cargo section appears to be intact. The possibility of future oil release has prompted the U.S. Coast Guard to contract Global to determine the integrity of the cargo section and its contents. Coast Guard Capt.

ROV will be used in an attempt to determine if oil is present on sunken WWII tanker. Global Diving and Salvage Inc. has been contracted by the United States Coast Guard to determine if oil is present aboard the sunken ship S.S. Montebello, which sits 900 feet below the ocean surface approximately 6.5 miles off the coast of Cambria, California. The S.S. Montebello sank after a Japanese submarine torpedoed the large oil tanker on December 23, 1941. The vessel broke apart landing upright with her bow separated from the majority of the wreckage. To date, no signs of leakage have been detected, and from previous visual inspections by submarine, the cargo section appears to be intact. The possibility of future oil release has prompted the U.S.

LOS ANGELES — The Coast Guard announces its National Preparedness Response Exercise Program (NPREP) pre-exercise Public Outreach events to be held Sept. 13, 2011 in Ventura, Calif., free of charge. Government and Industry experts will be facilitating seminars on three topics of interest: Deepwater Horizon Response, Oiled Wildlife Care Network, and Sensitive Sites Strategy, from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. Static displays such as communications trailers, a HASS-like boat, Patch technology for vessels, off-shore deployment of a Vessel of Opportunity Skimming System (VOSS) from Coast Guard Cutter George Cobb, and others, will be available for viewing from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. The seminars and displays will be held at Robert J.

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.

John Joseph Cota, the pilot who caused the Cosco Busan, a 900-ft long container ship, to collide with the San Francisco Bay Bridge and discharge approximately 53,000 gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay, was sentenced to serve 10 months in federal prison by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston for the Northern District of California, the Justice Department announced. Cota, who was a licensed bar pilot at the time of the collision, gave commands that caused the 65,131-ton Hong Kong-registered ship to collide with the bridge on Nov. 7, 2007. Cota was sentenced according to an agreement in which he pleaded guilty to negligently causing discharge of a harmful quantity of oil in violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA)…