Fuel split into San Francisco Bay
after ship container crash

Bay City News

November 7, 2007

Fuel and oil spilled into the San Francisco Bay after a container ship collided with a tower San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge tower this morning.

The bridge was not damaged in the collision nor did morning commuters feel the impact, said California Department of Transportation spokesman Bart Ney.

The 8:30 a.m. collision, blamed on low visibility due to dense fog, knocked a 100-foot section of the fender that protects the tower into the water and left a large gash on the side of the vessel that spilled fuel and oil for about 30 minutes.

The pilot of the COSCO BUSAN has not been named. The port is posting signs around the Bay warning people not to fish or swim in certain areas near the spill. The Bay Area Air Quality Management Board is monitoring safety along the port property.

Caltrans dispatched structural engineers and maintenance crews after the accident occurred, but the bridge was fully protected from damage by the bumpers, Ney said.

Pollution experts from the California Department of Fish and Game are working with the U.S. Coast Guard's San Francisco Sector and the San Francisco Police Department to place containing devices in the water around the spill, Coast Guard Petty Officer Third Class Michael Anderson said.

After containing the spill, crews will be placing absorbing materials over the area, Anderson said.

San Francisco police and the Coast Guard also enforced a 100-foot safety zone around the leaked fuel and the ship, docked north of Treasure Island, according to the Coast Guard.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation, according to officials.

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