Spill in San Francisco Bay

http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2007/11/09/ba_spill_024a_fl.jpg

photo credit - Chronicle/Frederic Larson

SF Chronicle article with a lot of photos -

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/08/BAD8T8PLU.DTL

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More...

original spill estimate off by 58,000 gallons -

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/08/BA66T8SUR.DTL&tsp=1

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Boy, those photos sure bring back lots of memories. What a sad sight.

In my junior year of high school, I remember the huge oil spill in the Bay. A neighbor veterinarian, Dr. Navijo, opened up his ranch and clinic to try to save as many of the birds as possible. I was one of many who volunteered endless days and nights washing down birds and stuffing their gullets with fish and eyedroppers full of gruel. Those grebes are nasty biters! Dr. Navijo pioneered many of today's techniques for bird rescue during that time. We had an amazing survival rate and were able to return thousands of birds back to the wild.

I hope there are still people like Dr. Navijo around to help today's birds.

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I think there are, but I don't really know.

It's weird - the photo that shows in the first post here is NOT the one I posted, though it'll do. I'd better go check the photo credit now.

Chrissy Field, I took Pacco for a run there once..

edit, maybe I'm confused. I thought it was a beach, a long yellow tube thing, and one guy...
but, anyway, the photo in the first post was with the LA Times article and by the photographer as stated.

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I'd heard about the ship hitting, but not about the oil spill. Odd that. It makes me feel ill with frustration to see those animals covered in oil.

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According to the evening news a few minutes ago, the oil slick stretches from the Richmond Bridge to the Golden Gate and has left deposits of oil on many areas.

It isn't as bad as the spill in 1971 but it is bad enough. The tanker hit the Bay Bridge in the fog and they under reported the damage and spilled oil amount. There is a company cleaning up the worst of it before it hits shore, but so far several dozen birds have died already.

Quote:

Fuel Spill From Bay Bridge Accident Larger Than Thought

Posted: Nov 7, 2007 09:31 AM PST

Updated: Nov 8, 2007 11:27 AM PST

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) - Though initial statements Wednesday reported a small oil leak from an accident involving a container ship and the Bay Bridge, officials now say 58,000 gallons of oil leaked into the ocean, affecting both people and wildlife.

Baker Beach, China Beach, Crissy Field, and Aquatic Park have been shut down in San Francisco due to contamination. Rodeo Beach, Kirby Cove and Black Sand Beach in Marin are closed as well.

Before it became too dark, crews were able to clean up about 8,000 gallons. Members of the Coast Guard and National Park service are currently combing the beaches, looking for damage.

In an interview Friday morning with KRON 4's Will Tran, Brian O'Neill with the National Parks Service says tar balls are appearing on many of the beaches. While the lighter part of crude oil shows as a sheen on the surface of the ocean, the heavier part of the oil becomes tar balls which either float to the bottom or go on shore. These thick, sticky items are problematic for humans and even more of a danger for wildlife.

The accident did not affect the bridge because the ship hit protective bumpers around the footing of the bridge towers.

Booms are in place along many of the beaches to catch any oil that may wash ashore. Signs are up warning people to stay away from the area.

"We have reports that there are fumes that could be dangerous to your health so we're asking people to stay away from the beaches for now," Christine Powell with the NPS told KRON 4's Toan Lam.

The Coast Guard says fog was a factor in the accident but they're also testing the crew members for alcohol and other drugs.

More than a dozen agencies continue to work on the clean-up efforts. Booms are set up around the Cosco Busan. The outer boom acts as a barrier while the inner one soaks up the oil like a sponge.

Quote:

Major oil spills in or around San Francisco Bay

Associated Press - November 8, 2007 7:34 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Here is a look at major oil spills in or around the San Francisco Bay Area.

2007: About 58,000 gallons spill into San Francisco Bay after a ship strikes into a tower on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

2004: More than 120,000 gallons spilled in Suisun Marsh from Kinder Morgan pipeline.

1996: 40,000 gallons spilled from a military vessel near Pier 70.

1988: 400,000 gallons spilled when Shell refinery drain line breaks.

1984: 1.5 million gallons spilled just outside the Golden Gate Bridge when an explosion damages a tanker ship.

1971: 840,000 gallons spilled when two Standard Oil tankers collided.

1937: 2.7 million gallons spilled when an oil tanker collided with a passenger ship.

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One other thing reported on the news, the Coast Guard didn't bother to test the ship's captain/crew for alcohol until several hours after the accident.

What I don't understand is, aren't these ships equipped with GPS systems? How could a ship run into a bridge that hasn't moved in more than 50 years if they are using GPS? If they aren't using GPS, why are the ships allowed to travel through the Bay in such heavy fog?

The fog we're experiencing is so bad it caused another of those 100-car pile ups of speeders and tailgaters on Hwy 99 a couple days ago.

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Yes, I saw that. That was always one reason I took 101 south, if I possisbly could. Not that there is never fog there, but I tend to hear of those horrendo pileups on 99...

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The thing about the non alcohol (or, presumably, drug testing) by the coast guard... geez.

Also, I'm not sure I'm right, but it seems they could have check out the extent of the leak faster. I wasn't there, though, so I won't bark at them yet for that.

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Was the impact at the Bay bridge or the Golden gate?? Fog extending in to the Bay Bridge is extremely rare, while at the Golden gate it is quite common. Most of the reports I ahve seen about the spill refer to the former Chrissy Field area adjacent to the Marina and very near the Golden Gate.

GPS certainly helps navigation in the fog, but large ships have been coming through that channel in dense fog for a long time - I've done it two or three times without ever even seeing the Golden Gate Bridge. Not all that difficult with radar, but it does get one's attention. Groundings and collisions when they occur usually involve an element of disorientation on the ship's bridge even though the correct information is almost always found to have been available. People make mistakes, usually through carelessness. The way to prevent them is severe penalties for those that fail - it gets everyone's attention.

In fact these things are rather easily cleaned up and the bay will heal quickly.

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Bay Bridge. There are photos in the chronicle article I linked to somewhere at the beginning of the first page. When you open the article there are 4 photos, then below that, the word more, which if clicked on brings up a lot more photos.

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Well, I saw something about it taking years to heal, probably another Chronicle article. I'm no expert.

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Thanks for the link - should have checked it the first time. It was the Bay Bridge indeed and the vessel was a large (and tall) container ship. Very likely it was transiting between the center concrete pier and one of the adjacent suspension towers. This is a fairly narrow gap through the highest elevation of the bridge, one taken by large vessels that need the clearance.

That's the passage I took on the carriers, and frankly it and the Alameda channel were the most difficult points in the port entry. The damn gap between the bridge towers seemed to get narrower each year. I'm skeptical about the fog though: sounds like an excuse. As long as they could see at least the base of the tower, they should have had no problem. Container ships, however often have major visibility obstructions forward of the bridge.

In any event I'll be reviewing this one on the Port Commission next month.

I wouldn't trust the Chronicle to get its facts right on anything.

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Tall, huh. That would explain the narrow zone..

but the article said it hit the pylon shield, not the bridge overhead. I guess (I don't know boat/ship terminology) the forward part of the ship wouldn't be the tallest...

The fog..

even though I lived for a while not too many miles from from an airport I heard was built as some kind of fog test field (Eureka-Arcata), I don't know how fog is monitored, and, if monitored, recorded.

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No I'm sure they hit the very heavy concrete and steel foundation for the towers near the water level, just as you said. - it is designed to withstand a ship collision.. My point about height was only that they likely had no option of going under the much wider suspension section because of the need for vertical clearance.

Fog just means you can't see much. A big deal when you are planning to pass (say ) just 200 feet abeam a large tower in an 800+ foot vessel. On a large container ship the captain's visibility from the bridge can be very limited in close quarters. Just owing to the geometry from the bridge (on the aft part of the ship), the first water he can see looking over the bow is likely well over a half mile ahead of the ship. Once you start through the gap you are more or less committed, and if you are off center and drifting a bit with wind or tide you are F#$@ed.

Curious though. I never encountered fog below the Bay Bridge. Lots of it in the Golden Gate Channel, but it almost always cleared up before Alcatraz.

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Got that about the narrow section.

Didn't know the distance re the captain's visibility/decision making time.

I had thought, hmm, wind, but do wind and thick fog go together? Maybe the fog didn't have to be all that thick to obscure. Tide, duh, I wasn't thinking about that..

On the fog monitoring, I was getting at - can they prove it was very foggy then..

(signing off, g'night)

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You are correct, fog is associated with light winds and is quickly dissipated in wind speeds over 15 kts. However a container vessel with very high freeboard and stacked with containers along its length presents a very large sail area to a cross wind. A drift angle once established can't easily be stopped owing to the mass and momentum of the ship.

If the captain is (foolishly) proceeding slowly at (say) less than 10 kts and he does encounter even light wind & tide forces causing him to drift (say) at 2 kts then he must steer about 12 degrees into the wind & tide to maintain a straight course. This effectively increases the beam of an 800 ft vessel by about 160 feet, significantly reducing his clearance. Now if he is also off centerline a bit .....

It can be a bit like threading a needle.

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Wonder if this will lead to more efforts to dredge the Bay.

Am also concerned about this being the time of year for the salmon run up the river.

Three videos here:

http://www.kcra.com/video/14543132/index.html

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BBB

Butrflynet wrote:

Boy, those photos sure bring back lots of memories. What a sad sight.
In my junior year of high school, I remember the huge oil spill in the Bay. A neighbor veterinarian, Dr. Navijo, opened up his ranch and clinic to try to save as many of the birds as possible. I was one of many who volunteered endless days and nights washing down birds and stuffing their gullets with fish and eyedroppers full of gruel. Those grebes are nasty biters! Dr. Navijo pioneered many of today's techniques for bird rescue during that time. We had an amazing survival rate and were able to return thousands of birds back to the wild.
I hope there are still people like Dr. Navijo around to help today's birds.

Butrflynet used to come home after hours of cleaning birds with oil in her long hair, on her clothes, her shoes, smelling of eau de oil cologne. That's where she met the love of her life, a wonderful photographer. Val told people he fell in love with a girl covered in bird **** the first time he saw her. Sadly, he died of a brain tumor.

Butrflynet's brother got a job with a company that used small boats to lay barriers on the bay's water to contain oil spills. Good thing he was a champion swimmer out in a small boat in the Bay currents. He came home a lot cleaner than his sister.

I donated money and food to the bird cleaning crews at the Vet's urban ranch to pay for the supplies they needed and food for the cleaning volunteers. Did you know that bird cleaners experimented with several detergents and soap until they discovered a little-known detergent, "Dawn", because it was the best oil remover from the bird's bodies without harming them. That's how Dawn got it's best seller start as the best grease-cutting detergent.

BBB

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Spill in San Francisco Bay

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