11.11.07

F I R S TP R E V658NEXTLAST

San Francisco Bay Oil Spill
Early on Wednesday morning the 65,131-ton container ship, Cosco Busan was sailing through the foggy San Francisco Bay when the Vessel Traffic Service, a Coast Guard facility on Yerba Buena Island warned the ship that it was heading for one of the Bay Bridge's towers. The ship's pilot, John Cota radioed back that the ship was on course and heading for the middle of the 2,210 ft. span between the towers. A few minutes at 8:30 am later the 131 ft.-wide Cosco Busan ran into one of the bumpers protecting the Bridge's towers. The damaged ship then spilled 58,000 gallons of oil into the Bay. While the incident is currently under investigation, the result of this ecological disaster will be felt for years and forced the closure a number of beaches and islands in the area. Fishing in the Bay was suspended and the annual crabbing season, delayed. Hundreds of seabirds have been killed by the oil spill and the effect on other marine life is yet to be assessed.
[ MAP E-17 ]


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