Original title: Southern California crude oil spill or a cargo ship hitting a submarine pipeline due to anchoring Source: China News Network
According to foreign media reports, investigators said on the 17th that a major oil spill on the coast of Southern California in the United States may be related to a cargo ship that hooked an underwater oil pipeline when it was anchored in the sea and dragged it for a certain distance. .
The Panamanian-registered “Dennet” freighter arrived at the Port of Long Beach this past weekend, and federal investigators boarded the ship to investigate.
Coast Guard Lieutenant Nien said on the 17th that the ship had passed through the accident area in a storm in January. Investigators believe that the ship’s anchor hit an oil pipeline on the seabed. The impact may knock a 2.5 cm thick (1 inch) concrete casing off the pipe and drag it for more than 30 meters, bending the pipe, but it did not break the pipe.
Nien said that it is not yet certain whether the impact caused the oil spill in October, or whether the pipeline was hit by other objects at a later date, or whether it was caused by a pre-existing problem.
Nien said: “We are still studying a variety of ships and situations.”
Investigation of the cause of the leak may lead to criminal charges or civil penalties, but has not yet been announced. Nien said the investigation may continue for several months. On the 16th, the U.S. Coast Guard designated the owner and operator of the ship as its stakeholders to investigate the oil spill. The Mediterranean Shipping Company to which the freighter in question belongs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A major oil spill occurred on the coast of Southern California recently. The amount of crude oil spilled was as high as 126,000 gallons. Huntington Beach was forced to close. This leak is estimated to have released nearly 100,000 liters of crude oil into the sea, causing the deaths of birds, fish and mammals.
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