California oil spill likely caused by Liberian-owned cargo ship, 'Beijing' : Reports

A Liberian-owned ship called ‘Beijing’ is said to be responsible for the massive oil spill that took place last month and rocked the Southern California beaches. A report by Daily Mail stated that the spill took place in October after the vessel’s anchor dragged across the seabed that led to the cracking of a crucial pipeline. Reportedly, the United States Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Friday identified the cargo ship Costco Beijing as the vessel which was likely responsible for the incident.

As per the report, the investigators have said that even though Beijing’s pipe was hit by the anchor in January, it did not break to leak the oil until October. The Librarian owners of the vessel, Capetanissa Maritime Corp. and operator V.Ships Greece Ltd. were both named as ‘parties in interest.’ Reportedly, the investigators boarded the vessel at the port of Long Beach on Thursday. The latest findings mean that investigators will be able to further examine the vessel more closely as the probe into the spill continues to develop.

The federal investigators managed to determine that the ship suffered anchor dragging and noted that the incident happened ‘in close proximity’ to an underwater pipeline. The pipeline was later found to be the source of the leak in the US beaches that led to the thousands of gallons of oil spilling into the ocean. The oil spill caused the shutting down of beaches and marinas in Orange County.

Coast Guard had earlier notice about the California oil spill

Earlier, AP stated that Coast Guard received multiple reports of a possible fuel spill off the Southern California coast earlier than previously disclosed and it even asked the local authorities to investigate around 15 hours before its own officials confirmed the large oil slick. The report cited an Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s memo to state that the initial reports of a possible spill north of the Huntington Beach pier were received by the Coast Guard around 5:30 PM on 1 October (local time). The documents even disclosed that similar multiple calls were made through the marine radio emergency channel from boats that were leaving the Huntington Beach air show. 

(IMAGE: AP)