OAKLAND (CBS SF) — The U.S. Coast Guard is reportedly investigating whether a cargo ship currently anchored at the Port of Oakland played a part in the massive oil spill in fouling beaches in Southern California.
The Los Angeles Times reported the German container ship Rotterdam Express was anchored near the ruptured oil pipeline off the Orange County coast before the oil spill was discovered.
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A spokesperson for Hapag-Lloyd, the company that owns the ship, said it was anchored in the vicinity of the oil spill, but was “pretty far away from the pipeline.”
Workers clean contaminants from the Talbert Marsh on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, the fifth day after an oil spill off the coast of Huntington Beach threatens the ecosystem. (Photo by Mindy Schauer/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
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The Coast Guard is trying to determine if whether a ship’s anchor punctured the pipeline, spilling 144,000 gallons of crude oil.
Federal transportation investigators say a backup of cargo ships at California ports may also have played a role in the spill, as ships have been forced to drop anchor off the coast because of overcrowding at ports and berths.
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Coast Guard investigators say the mile-long section of pipeline that ruptured appears to have been dragged about 100 feet, possibly by an anchor dropped in the wrong spot, although it’s it’s still unclear how that happened.