Oil Spill Cleanup Idles East Basin, Channel Area
Vessels in Los Angeles Harbor’s East Basin and much of the Cerritos Channel will likely have to remain idle this weekend as cleanup crews contend with pollution from a 4-day-old oil spill, a Coast Guard official said Friday.
The cleanup will take more time than expected because the spill, which occurred Tuesday as a freighter took on fuel from a barge, was far larger than first thought, Lt. Stephen Danscuk said. After originally estimating the spill at 1,000 gallons, the Coast Guard on Friday calculated the amount at 13,000 gallons. The agency attributed the change to new information on fuel levels in the barge and the South Korean-registered freighter.
Due to the cleanup work, the Coast Guard has closed the East Basin and part of the Cerritos Channel, which will seal off several commercial terminals and nine small boat marinas with an estimated 1,700 slips. The closure is tentatively scheduled to last until Tuesday.
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