4,200-Gallon Fuel Oil Spill Slows Ship Traffic
A 4,200-gallon fuel oil spill slowed ship traffic Wednesday in busy Los Angeles Harbor as cleanup crews continued the task of sopping up the gooey substance, authorities said. The cleanup was expected to be completed by Wednesday evening, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Robert Beals.
“It’s kind of like used crankcase oil, pretty heavy, pretty gooey, real sticky, black,” Coast Guard Cmdr. Joe Brusseau said in describing the oil. The leak occurred Tuesday night at Berth 174 as a barge was transferring the fuel through a hose to the Sammi Superstar, a 600-foot South Korean-flagged freighter, Coast Guard officials said. The ship’s owner assumed responsibility for the cleanup and hired private crews through its local shipping agent, Panobulk.
Officials initially thought as much as 8,400 gallons of oil might have been spilled but subsequently halved that estimate.
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