Fuel spill closes San Francisco beaches

[whirlygigspin]

Source: reuters

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A container ship bound for China struck a fog-shrouded tower of San Francisco's Bay Bridge on Wednesday morning, causing a fuel spill and forcing the closure of several San Francisco beaches, officials said.

People near the spill reported suffering headaches and nausea as they breathed air containing vaporized oil, but public health officials said the fumes were not likely to have long-term health effects.

Four picturesque beaches on both sides of the landmark Golden Gate Bridge -- Baker, Fort Point, China, and Crissy Field -- were closed, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

"There is a sheen in the water. It is bunker fuel," said Coast Guard Petty Officer Kevin Neff about oil used to propel the ship.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0755968920071108

[truthisfreedom]

1. Oh, it's okay, just breathe it. It doesn't matter how much it burns, it's not going to have any

long-term effects. Remember 9-11? The burning towers were just fine, and the dust? No problem. Another thing... SHEEN! When was the last time you saw water with such wonderful sheen? It's not OIL, folks, it's BUNKER FUEL. Stop worrying about it!

[Thothmes]

12. Most Probably Marine Diesel Fuel, not bunker oil

[Javaman]

14. I'm curious, what is the difference between the two?

I know that bunker fuel is a thick syrup type, but what is marine diesel?

[Thothmes]

19. Marine Diesel

Is distilled fuel. It is most like a dirty diesel fuel.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

2. Link isn't working for me. Here's a SF local news link:

http://cbs5.com/

[cboy4]

3. This makes me unhappy.

"Rob Roberts, a lieutenant with the state Department of Fish and Game, said the 140 gallons of fuel that spilled from the ship will take about a month to clean up. By midday, some fuel had already reached Pier One in San Francisco just north of the Ferry Building."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/07/BAH3T81G7.DTL



11-07) 18:26 PST SAN FRANCISCO - A container ship bound for South Korea struck a tower base of the west span of the Bay Bridge today, tearing a gash in the hull and spilling fuel in the bay but sparing the bridge any damage, officials said.

Coast Guard Lt. Anya Hunter said the ship hit the protective shield that covers the concrete base of the second tower west of Yerba Buena Island about 8:30 a.m. and then bounced off. The ship, an 810-foot vessel named the Cosco Busan, hit the base hard enough for the concrete under the shield to inflict a gash 10 feet above the water line and about 160 feet long.

[AndyTiedye]

4. The Ship Looks High in the Water

but then I suppose most of the containers are empty on a ship going to the Far East. :(


Who could have predicted there would be fog in San Francisco Bay :sarcasm:

Doesn't something the size of a bridge abutment show up on radar?

[cboy4]

5. Yea, you're right, it does look high....I'd be curious to hear

what the explanation is because it's not like they bypassed the bridge en route to Oakland.

[defendandprotect]

6. Container ship bumps Bay Bridge tower

Source: AP

Container ship bumps Bay Bridge tower Wed Nov 7, 10:26 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO - A container ship traveling through dense fog Wednesday bumped into a tower supporting the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge but appeared not to have structurally damaged the span, U.S. Coast Guard officials said.

The ship, leaving from Oakland for South Korea, struck a tower about 8:30 a.m. The vessel reported damage to its front left side, and fuel was leaking, according to a statement from the Coast Guard, which responded to the incident.

Traffic on the bridge was not affected, and the span was intact and safe to cross, authorities said.

After the accident, the ship anchored. The Coast Guard and San Francisco Police Department enforced a 100-foot safety zone around the ship and fuel.

Four San Francisco beaches were closed because of reports that oil was washing ashore, the Coast Guard said. Signs warned the public not to swim or fish in several areas, and a hot line was set up to take reports of fouled wildlife.

Coast Guard pollution and marine inspectors investigated the amount of bulk fuel spilled, and an Army Corps of Engineers crew collected large wooden chunks from the bridge fender system that broke off into the water.

The Bay Bridge is actually two bridges connecting San Francisco to the East Bay. The tower hit Wednesday is part of the western span; the eastern span partially collapsed in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071108/ap_on_re_us/bay_bridge_ship

[defendandprotect]

7. Fuel spill closes San Francisco beaches

Fuel spill closes San Francisco beaches
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071108/us_nm/accident_sanfrancisco_dc
REUTEERS
By Amanda Beck
Wed Nov 7, 10:52 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A container ship bound for China struck a fog-shrouded tower of San Francisco's Bay Bridge on Wednesday morning, causing a fuel spill and forcing the closure of several San Francisco beaches, officials said.

People near the spill reported suffering headaches and nausea as they breathed air containing vaporized oil, but public health officials said the fumes were not likely to have long-term health effects.

Four picturesque beaches on both sides of the landmark Golden Gate Bridge -- Baker, Fort Point, China, and Crissy Field -- were closed, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

"There is a sheen in the water. It is bunker fuel," said Coast Guard Petty Officer Kevin Neff about oil used to propel the ship.

As of Wednesday evening, investigators were still trying to determine the cause of the accident and how much fuel had spilled into the bay. Early reports had described the leak as 3-feet (1-metre) wide.

Wil Bruhns, supervising engineer of San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, said the oil could pose a threat to wildlife like seals, fish and birds.

"Bunker fuel oil tends to be rather heavy, and it doesn't float as well as other oil. It's harder to contain," Bruhns said.

[ClintonTyree]

10. Wait....a container ship BOUND for China?

Must be full to the brim with containers of American currency. That's about the only thing we export to China anymore.

[liberal N proud]

11. They have to return the containers to get more cheap shit

China is exporting all of it's lead to the US in the form of paint on toys.

[Tesha]

13. Here on the East Coast, they don't even bother sending 'em back!

Someday, the tallest mountain in New Jersey is going to
be one of the piles of unused containers sitting in either
the Port of Newark or the Port of Elizabeth.

It's cheaper to sell the containers off to people to
turn into unconventional housing and such than it is
to shit them back for "more cheap shit" from China.

Tesha

[Islander Expat]

8. "Front Left Side" in normally referred to as the Port Bow.....

that is all...

[Eagle_Eye]

9. Where is the Department of Homeland Security? Didn't they see this coming?

Twenty seven years ago something similar happened in Tampa Bay.

"On the morning of May 9th,1980 at 07:38, during a violent rain squall producing high winds and almost zero visibility the empty phosphate freighter SUMMIT VENTURE piloted by Captain John Lerro slammed into the #2 South pier ( over 700 feet from the center of the channel ) of the southbound (1970) span , it knocked 1261 feet of center span, cantilever , approach and roadway into Tampa Bay. Thirty-five people , most of them on board a Greyhound bus bound for Miami plunged 150 feet to their deaths in what is now one of the worst bridge disasters in history."

http://www.francesfarmersrevenge.com/stuff/bridges/skyway.htm

One would think DHS would keep a tighter rein on vessels that could disrupt our ports through 'bridge attacks'.

[El Supremo]

15. Oil spill closes San Francisco beaches

Source: MSNBC

SAN FRANCISCO - Oil that leaked from a cargo ship after it bumped the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge has closed five beaches and is washing up as far as 40 miles north of San Francisco, the Coast Guard said Thursday.

About 58,000 gallons of oil spilled from the ship when it struck a tower supporting the bridge Wednesday morning. The accident caused no structural damage to the span, officials said, but vessel’s hull suffered a large gash. The ship has since anchored in the bay.

“By our guidelines it is a medium-sized spill. But in the San Francisco Bay Area, that is a big deal,” said Coast Guard Capt. William Uberti, captain of the Port of San Francisco and the chief federal officer investigating the accident.


Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21689998/

---

Oops. Old news. See last night's thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3058660

[AndyA]

16. Note to all oil companies:

Quick - get the word out to RAISE GAS PRICES IMMEDIATELY at all stations! This major catastrophe will greatly impact supplies!

:sarcasm:

[LiberalEsto]

17. Quick - get the scoops!

Grab it while it lasts.

[pinniped]

18. Some pics:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/08/BAD8T8PLU.DTL

[EFerrari]

20. Apparently, the Coast Guard misreported the size of the spill

by about a factor of four. Our poor birds and beaches. There are some fragile habitats around here. This is horrendous. :(

[suffragette]

21. Big disparity

Why did a spill that the Coast Guard reported all day Wednesday to local officials and the public as being just over 100 gallons, suddenly grow, by 9 p.m., to 58,000 gallons?
~snip~
By 4 p.m., the crew told the Coast Guard 58,000 gallons had spilled.

From http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_7414045?source=most_viewed&nclick_check=1

That's a large disparity, both in amount of oil and the time from when they were knew it was larger to when they reported it.
I don't get it.

[EFerrari]

22. Newsom is rightfully beside himself.

I don't know much about the Coast Guard. Maybe THEY should have been drug tested just like the ship's crew was. :grr:

[suffragette]

24. He should be angry as should everyone

This is not acceptable and it looks to be very damaging for the environment.

[Xithras]

23. They're saying there was no way to determine the actual size.

The equipment that determines the level of the fluids in the tank was damaged during the impact, and the combination of heavy fog and proximity to the Bay Bridge made aerial estimation impossible. The ship apparently dumped nearly all of its oil before the coast guard arrived so it looked to them as if only a small amount was trickling out. They couldn't know that a much larger amount had already dumped.

This is indeed horrendous, but I have to cut the CG a little slack here. Estimating the size of an oil spill when visibility is only a few hundred yards is an impossible task.

[suffragette]

25. But there was apparently a delay between when they knew and

when they informed the public and the city.

After two days of complaints from Bay Area officials about lack of communication about the spill, Coast Guard Rear Adm. Craig E. Bone agreed today that the Coast Guard's failure to release immediate information about the size of the spill is "unacceptable."

Sen. Barbara Boxer also criticized the Coast Guard's response in a letter Thursday to Commandant Adm. Thad W. Allen. She said she was "very troubled by the Coast Guard's delay in delivering accurate information to the public and the city of San Francisco. Many questions remain as to why it took an entire day to determine the gravity of this spill." http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_7417507


Looks like Boxer is going to press for answers on this: http://boxer.senate.gov/news/releases/record.cfm?id=287174


I don't expect perfection here and I understand the conditions were challenging. But I do think it's important to get answers about this and improve future response.