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Wednesday, 19 August 2009 20:28 |
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TREASURE ISLAND, Calif. -- Though the oil sheen in San Francisco Bay from a sunken tug boat off the southeastern coast of Treasure Island has almost entirely contained, salvaging the vessel will take at least a few more days, U.S. Coast Guard officials said Tuesday.
The U.S.S. Wenonah, a vintage U.S. Navy tugboat that was retired in 1974, sank Monday afternoon, causing between 500 and 700 of oil residue to leak into the San Francisco Bay, according to the Coast Guard.
About 250 gallons of oily water has been absorbed, said Lt. Cmdr. Gus Bannan, chief of incident management for the San Francisco division.
But the 100-foot Wenonah is still resting on the bottom of the Bay near Pier 1 on Treasure Island, submerged except for the top few feet of its mast in 25 feet of water.
Bannan said the Coast Guard expects to finish a salvage plan by Wednesday, but it will take at least another 36 hours after that to recover the tugboat.
The Coast Guard still doesn't know why the Wenonah sank, and although divers have been investigating it underwater, a final determination can't be made until the boat is salvaged, Bannan said.
"It's a pretty heavy boat," said Lt. Rob Roberts of the California Department of Fish and Game. "That's why it's taking so long to come up with an exact salvage plan. We've got several contractors looking at it giving us different options."
The Coast Guard must approve any salvage plan, which will likely involve lifting the 300-ton boat using a huge water-based crane. But that can't happen right away.
Authorities said they have to make sure the leaking tugboat doesn't spill more oil into the Bay and that no marine life is harmed during the cleanup and salvage operation.
Kirsten Olson lives on a sailboat with her family. She said spills happen too often and she worries about the marine life.
"I think a lot of it can be prevented," Olson said. "It's carelessness. If something is going to sit for a certain period of time with old fuel in it. It needs to have that fuel pumped out before something like this happens."
The Coast Guard said it first learned of the sinking tugboat around 11 Monday morning from a passerby.
But Southern California resident Larry Weisenthal -- who was rowing in the area over the weekend -- emailed KTVU photos taken Sunday morning around 10 a.m. of the tug sitting very low in the water.
"It looked very precarious. It looked like it was about to sink," said Weisenthal during a phone intereview Tuesday.
Weisenthal said the tugboat was out in the open and easily spotted by boaters and that he thought someone would have already notified the Coast Guard.
"Right now, I'm very sad that I didn't call the Coast Guard because I'm sure it could have been stabilized. The sinking could have been prevented, as well as the loss of the oil," said Weisenthal.
KTVU has learned the cost of the cleanup and salvage of the sunken tugboat could reach a quarter of a million dollars. Bannan said the oil cleanup was paid for with funds from the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund.
"We have to have the salvage plan approved by the Coast Guard first. And of course then the owners have to approve the cost and will have to come up with some money," said Tim Parker of Parker Diving and Salvage.
As of Tuesday afternoon, no adverse environmental effects of the spill had been documented or reported, said Nicholas.
He said his department is monitoring local marine life and birds for any signs of distress.
The Wenonah is owned by the Historic Tugboat Education and Restoration Society, which leases the space at Pier 1 on Treasure Island.
The U.S.S. Wenonah was built in 1940 and spent 33 years in service before it was decommissioned in 1974. |
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Last Updated on Sunday, 01 November 2009 17:04 |
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Thursday, 23 April 2009 12:55 |
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TITAN Salvage Caps Busy First Quarter
Eight salvage operations completed.
New Flame wreck removal up next.
(POMPANO BEACH, Fla.; April 22, 2009) With the arrival of calmer springtime weather, TITAN Salvage has resumed wreck removal operations in Gibraltar on the New Flame following a busy first quarter in which the company successfully responded to eight salvage opportunities. Among them were the re-floating of the bulk carrier Fedra's forward section in Gibraltar, the re-floating of a general cargo vessel grounded on environmentally-sensitive coral reefs of southern Belize; and the safe delivery of a tank ship involved in a collision and fire off the coast of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The work performed during the first three months of 2009 was illustrative of TITAN's diverse technical expertise and worldwide service capabilities, said Dan Schwall, TITAN's managing director.
As TITAN personnel were preparing to suspend operations for the winter on the New Flame wreck removal in Gibraltar in late 2008, they were called upon to assist in the cliff-top rescue of crewmembers from the bulk carrier Fedra, which had run aground during an unprecedented storm and was pinned to the base of a cliff just below the Europa Point lighthouse. All crewmembers were saved and TITAN was later contracted to remove the forward section of the wreck and accommodation unit.
On New Year's Day, after weeks of working on the Fedra and removing the vessel's accommodations unit, the TITAN team successfully re-floated the forward section from her wrecked position at Europa Point. The section was then towed to an area near the entrance of the Port of Gibraltar, where extensive diving operations were conducted by TITAN to remove hanging debris from the vessel, which reduced the draft and enabled the successful delivery of the vessel into the Port of Gibraltar for scrapping and recycling.
About two weeks later, the loaded general cargo vessel Westerhaven ran aground on the coral reefs of southern Belize while en route from Belize to Puerto Cortez, Honduras. TITAN immediately dispatched Crowley's powerful tug Mariner from Lake Charles, La. to the incident scene where it was used by contracted salvors to successfully re-float the ship.
TITAN teams around the world continued their international salvage and rescue efforts in February. Under Lloyd's Open Forum (LOF) terms TITAN responded to and helped free a fully laden tanker grounded in the Gulf of Mexico. Also during the month, the company assisted with the re-floating of the US Navy's guided missile cruiser USS Port Royal, which had run aground just outside of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and successfully completed two separate high seas ship rescues in both the North Atlantic and in the mid-Pacific, near Guam.  Last month, another TITAN team found themselves off the coast of Dubai responding on LOF terms to the collision and fire of the tank ship Kashmir. Working closely with local operators Mubarak Marine, the Kashmir was re-delivered safely to owners on March 23.  "Our team of engineers and salvage specialists has displayed a high level of expertise and professionalism in responding to a variety of salvage and wreck removal operations around the world in the first quarter," said Schwall. "Our people are known for providing Response and Results, and they stepped up to deliver solutions in challenging and time-sensitive situations." This month, New Flame wreck removal operations reconvened following the winter shutdown period. The second phase of the operation will primarily involve diving and rigging operations, using Crowley's barge 408 and tug Warrior, to prepare the stern section and engine room of the submerged wreck so that it can be lifted by a heavy lift vessel and delivered to a landing area in the Port of Gibraltar for scrapping and recycling. TITAN, a wholly owned Crowley subsidiary, is a worldwide salvage company based in Pompano Beach, Fla. The company also has offices and equipment depots in Newhaven, UK and Singapore. Over the past 28 years, TITAN has performed more than 300 salvage and wreck removal projects worldwide. Titan responds to vessel emergencies around the world and is accessible 24 hours a day through the company's main dispatch telephone number, +1-954-545-4143. Additional information about TITAN may be found at www.titansalvage.com.
Jacksonville-based Crowley Holdings Inc., a holding company of the 117-year-old Crowley Maritime Corporation, is a privately held family and employee-owned company that provides diversified transportation and logistics services in domestic and international markets by means of six operating lines of business: Puerto Rico/Caribbean Liner Services, Latin America Liner Services, Logistics Services, Petroleum Services, Marine Services and Technical Services. Offered within these operating lines of business are the following services: liner container shipping, logistics, contract towing and transportation; ship assist and escort; energy support; salvage and emergency response; vessel management; vessel construction and naval architecture; government services, and petroleum and chemical transportation, distribution and sales. Additional information about Crowley its subsidiaries and business units may be found on the Internet at www.crowley.com. # # #
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Photo 1: TITAN responded to the collision and fire of the tank ship Kashmir off the coast of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Kashmir was re-delivered safely to owners on March 23.
Photo 2: In February, TITAN assisted with the re-floating of the US Navy's guided missile cruiser USS Port Royal, which ran aground just outside of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
Photo 3: TITAN successfully re-floated the Yasa Golden Dardanelles, a fully laden tanker with approximately 620,000 barrels of fuel oil onboard, off the coast of Galveston, Tex. on Feb. 22. |
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Last Updated on Sunday, 01 November 2009 17:32 |
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