Boat Sinks, Spilling Fuel in Aquatic Park

A derelict 35-foot cabin cruiser docked in Huntington Harbour sank early Monday, spilling gasoline into the water and forcing the evacuation of 32 people who live on boats in Sunset Aquatic Park, authorities said.

No injuries were reported, but the Orange County and Huntington Beach fire departments were called in to clean up about 50 gallons of spilled fuel under the supervision of U.S. Coast Guard officials, authorities said.

Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Bob Benson said a jogger reported seeing the unoccupied vessel sinking at the “C” dock of the aquatic park shortly before 5 a.m. Monday. The park’s dockmaster said the boat, recently sold, had been moored illegally there since early July.

Some of the gasoline was cleaned up by firefighters and the remainder evaporated in the sunlight, authorities said. Power at the docks, shut down after the gasoline leak was discovered, was restored by noon.

Once the boat was raised, investigators found a half-inch hole in a pipeline to the craft’s bait tank. “But we’re still not sure what caused it to go down,” a sheriff’s spokesman said.

Dockmaster Jack Ham said the boat was a “derelict” that was sold recently by a tenant at the aquatic park, bringing only $2,000 because of its poor condition. Ham said Frank Kent of Norwalk, who claims ownership of the large cruiser, has refused to move it or pay dock fees.

An investigation into the sinking was continuing.