Fuel Leaks From Boat Grounded On Sonoma Coast

BODEGA BAY, CA — An effort to remove a grounded fishing boat from Bodega Bay was continuing this week as crews also worked to halt the environmental impacts, the U.S. Coast Guard said late Tuesday.

Watchstanders with the Coast Guard Sector San Francisco received a call Friday night from the captain of the 58-foot commercial fishing vessel, Aleutian Storm. The captain needed help ungrounding the boat about two miles south of Bodega Bay —within the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary — and also reported there were four crew members aboard.

A Coast Guard boat crew from Bodega Bay responded alongside a Coast Guard helicopter crew from San Francisco. Members of the Sonoma County Fire Department members as well as a California Highway Patrol helicopter aircrew also assisted with response efforts.

All four crew members safely swim ashore after attempts to unground the vessel themselves, according to the Coast Guard. No injuries were reported.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, California Department of Fish and Wildlife Office of Spill Prevention and Response, California State Parks, Sonoma County Sheriff's Department, and the vessel captain remained onsite this week.

Initial efforts Sunday and Monday to refloat the vessel at high tide were unsuccessful and an unknown volume of diesel discharged into the water during the tug operation on Monday, the Coast Guard said.

The fuel capacity of the vessel is 3,400 gallons, and a total of 1,500 gallons of diesel was estimated to be on board.

Contractors began petroleum removal Tuesday morning and were able to remove diesel from one storage tank before tidal conditions made further operations unsafe.

The Coast Guard was continuing to monitor for pollution concerns while salvage operations were conducted.

Attempts to remove pollution from the vessel, address the crab catch, and assess the vessel’s integrity were expected to continue Wednesday, pending safe working conditions.

The cause of the grounding and the exact volume of diesel spilled were still being investigated.