Investigators imagine a 1,200-foot cargo ship dragging anchor in tough seas caught an underwater oil pipeline and pulled it throughout the seafloor, months earlier than a leak from the road fouled the Southern California shoreline with crude.
A staff of federal investigators attempting to chase down the reason for the spill boarded the Panama-registered MSC DANIT simply hours after the large ship arrived this weekend off the Port of Lengthy Seashore, the identical space the place the leak was found in early October.
Throughout a previous go to by the ship throughout a heavy storm in January, investigators imagine its anchor dragged for an unknown distance earlier than hanging the 16-inch metal pipe, Coast Guard Lt. j.g. SondraKay Kneen mentioned Sunday.
The influence would have knocked an inch-thick concrete casing off the pipe and pulled it greater than 100 toes, bending however not breaking the road, Kneen mentioned.
Nonetheless undetermined is whether or not the influence brought about the October leak, or if the road was hit by one thing else at a later date or failed attributable to a preexisting downside, Kneen mentioned.
“We’re nonetheless taking a look at a number of vessels and situations,” she mentioned.
The Coast Guard on Saturday designated the proprietor and operator as events of curiosity in its investigation into the spill, estimated to have launched about 25,000 gallons of crude into the water, killing birds, fish and mammals.
The accident only a few miles off Los Angeles’ Huntington Seashore fouled seashores and wetlands and led to short-term closures for cleanup work . Whereas not as dangerous as initially feared, it has reignited the talk over offshore drilling in federal waters within the Pacific, the place tons of of miles of pipelines had been put in many years in the past.
The DANIT’s operator, MSC Mediterranean Delivery Firm, is headquartered in Switzerland and has a fleet of 600 vessels and greater than 100,000 employees, based on the corporate.
MSC representatives didn’t instantly reply to e mail messages looking for remark. A safety guard reached by phone on the firm’s headquarters in Geneva mentioned it was closed till Monday.
The vessel’s proprietor, recognized by the Coast Guard as Dordellas Finance Company, couldn’t be reached for remark.
The DANIT arrived in Lengthy Seashore this weekend after voyaging from China, based on marine site visitors monitoring web sites.
