Fuel, oil leaking from sunken barge in San Francisco Bay
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The 112-foot freight barge Vengeance after capsizing near Yerba Buena Island, Calif., Friday, April 7, 2017. The U.S. Coast Guard responders are monitoring the sunken freight barge that is leaking diesel fuel and hydraulic oil into the San Francisco Bay.
SAN FRANCISCO >> Diesel fuel and hydraulic oil are leaking into the San Francisco Bay after powerful winds capsized a freight barge near the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge early today.
Authorities say they are preparing to clean a maximum of 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 300 gallons of lube oil.
The 112-foot barge has a crane and is under contract with Bay Area Rapid Transit. It is positioned near an underwater rail tunnel that carries BART’s commuter lines between San Francisco and Oakland, California. The barge is used by divers who do underwater anti-corrosion work on the tube.
BART authorities say no crews were working on the barge at the time. The agency’s engineers say the tube is not damaged. There are also no reports of damage to wildlife.
The Coast Guard reported the sunken barge shortly after midnight Friday.
The Coast Guard has set aside $50,000 from its oil-spill liability trust fund to use for cleaning up the spill, Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer Sarah Wilson said. A crew placed 3,000 feet of boom around the barge, which will serve as a barrier to minimize the impact of the spill.
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