Sunday, June 21, 2015

Spill From Sunken Boat Leaking Diesel Fuel Into Oyster Cove In South San Fransicso




Oyster Cove Marina
View toward marina across Oyster Cove in South San Francisco. (Google Street View)

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF)

The United States Coast Guard is trying to locate and notify the owner of a boat found submerged and leaking diesel fuel in a South San Francisco marina early Saturday morning.

The Coast Guard was notified of a 40-foot vessel submerged at dock four in Oyster Cove Marina at 12:05 a.m., by a good Samaritan who reported noticing the strong smell of diesel.

Responding officers authorized $15,000 in funding from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to clean up any discharged oil and brought in Parker Diving as the spill response contractor, according to the Coast Guard.

By 5:40 a.m. divers were able to plug the vents leaking oil and deploy boom to contain any that had already been discharged into the water. Luckily, there are no environmentally sensitive areas nearby that would be adversely impacted by the contamination, according to the Coast Guard.

So far investigators say they have not determined who owns the vessel or how it became submerged.


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Coast Guard responds to submerged vessel in Oyster Cove Marina

National Response Center Logo 

SAN FRANCISCO — The Coast Guard is responding to a report of a submerged vessel in Oyster Cove Marina Saturday.

At 12:05 a.m. Saturday, Coast Guard Sector San Francisco received a report from a good Samaritan concerning a 40-foot submerged vessel at Dock 4 in Oyster Cove Marina in South San Francisco. The person reported a strong smell of diesel near the vessel at Slip 189.

The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fun was opened, and $15,000 was authorized for use to clean up any discharged oil. Parker Diving was contracted as the spill response contractor to assist the Coast Guard in the response.

As of 5:40 a.m., the vents where the oil was discharging from have been plugged and boom has been deployed. There are no Environmentally Sensitive Areas in the vicinity that could be impacted by the discharged oil. The size of the diesel tanks and quantity of fuel that was inside them or the amount of oil discharged is unknown at this time.

The name and documentation number of the vessel or the identification of the owner has not been determined. Efforts are being made to locate and notify the owner. The cause of the vessel to become submerged has not been determined.

“The swift response by our Incident Management Team in conjunction with Parker Diving this morning reduced the potential of harm to the marine environment in Oyster Cove Marina,” said Capt. Greg Stump, commander, Coast Guard Sector San Francisco.

The cause of the incident is under investigation.