SOUTHLAND : New Cleanup Workers Flood O.C. Beaches; Oil Still Washing In

Legions of new cleanup crews flooded Orange County beaches this morning, tripling the number of workers desperately trying to swab up thick bands of oil from last week’s tanker accident that were being washed ashore by a long-feared weather system.

Although winds were milder than predicted, rising tides and moderate swells continued to drag the oil onto the beach. Winds, blowing at about 5 m.p.h. early today, were expected to pick up again as the front washed over the area, possibly turning the slick and potentially threatening areas as far south as Dana Point.

The American Trader, which spilled 394,000 gallons of oil off the Orange County coast when it struck its own anchor last week, berthed in Long Beach this morning and began discharging the remaining 19 million gallons of oil it carried. The ship’s crew disembarked and for the first time spoke to reporters about the accident.

There were “two sharp jolts” when the tanker struck its anchor, said Eric Bush of Seattle, a deckhand. Bush said he was in the process of dropping the ship’s second anchor when the mishap occurred.

“Then the water was just boiling” with spilled crude, Bush added.

As the American Trader reached port, Coast Guard Capt. James C. Card temporarily banned all tankers from using the Golden West mooring, where the 80,000-ton vessel, carrying 23 million gallons of oil, ruptured its own hull Feb. 7. Card is also considering a broader proposal that would ban all “laden merchant vessels” within half a mile of the mooring.