An unknown amount of fuel leaked from an historic ship docked at Fisherman's Wharf this weekend, leaving a lengthy slick on the water and at least two agencies scrambling to clean up the mess.
The United States Coast Guard and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said on Sunday that the World War II vessel the SS Jeremiah O'Brien, which is docked on Pier 45 near Fisherman's Wharf, dumped some of its fuel oil into the water at around 11 a.m. Saturday.
According to ABC7, the substance spilled was bunker oil, a heavy grade crude. The amount dumped into the water "was anywhere from five to fifty gallons," Coast Guard Lt. Jacob Aulner said.
Following the spill, an oil sheen "about 150 yards long" was visible on the water, ABC7 reports, as crews lay thousands and thousands of feet of containment boom around the area, as well as skimming the water and absorbing the spill with pads.
By Sunday morning, however, the sheen was no longer visible, the Chron reports, as “over time, with the tides and currents shifting, the fuel is dissipated into the atmosphere,” Aulner said.
The Coast Guard and Fish and Wildlife and still trying to determine what, if any impact the spill might have on area wildlife and the environment. In the meantime, however, swimmers are warned to avoid nearby Aquatic Park.
It's unclear who will pay for the cleanup: The National Liberty Ship Memorial, which maintains the SS Jeremiah O'Brien, is a nonprofit that relies on donations to keep the vessel afloat.
The O'Brien, which is a National Historic Landmark, "is one of two remaining fully functional Liberty ships of the 2,710 built and launched during World War II," and is "the last unaltered Liberty ship and remains historically accurate," according to the attraction's website.
As we noted way back in 2008, the O’Brien made eleven Normandy D-Day landings during World War II, "which was very remarkable since the liberty ships were not built to last."
