Federal agents investigating the cause of the massive oil spill in southern California believe that the anchor of a 1,200-foot cargo ship may have dragged an underwater oil pipeline across the seafloor, which may have resulted in a leak. Investigators said the ship's anchor may have damaged the pipeline months before the massive crude oil leak.
Investigators identified the vessel to be the Panama-registered MSC DANIT. The ship arrived in the Port of Long Beach over the weekend and federal agents are now reportedly onboard conducting an investigation.
Coast Guard Lt. j.g. SondraKay Kneen said Sunday that they believe the ship damaged underwater pipelines when it arrived in California back in January during a heavy storm. Kneen said the ship's anchor dragged along the seafloor for an unknown distance before striking a 16-inch steel pipeline.
Investigators said the impact likely destroyed the inch-thick concrete casing protecting the pipe before pulling it more than 100 feet. They said the anchor likely did not break the pipeline but bent it significantly.
Investigators are still trying to determine if the incident had caused the oil spill earlier in the month. They have not yet ruled out other possibilities, including a possible separate impact or if the pipeline burst due to a preexisting problem.
With the investigation still ongoing, federal authorities have placed the vessel's owner and operator as parties of interest. MSC DANIT is owned by Dordellas Finance Corporation and is operated by MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, which is headquartered in Switzerland. The shipping company operates a fleet of 600 vessels.
If the ship's anchor did cause the oil spill, the vessel's owner and the operator could face possible criminal charges or civil penalties. The companies can challenge the case by cross-examining government witnesses or call their own witnesses.
The oil spill released an estimated 25,000 gallons of crude oil into the seas around the Southern California coastline, destroying local ecosystems and killing thousands of fish, birds, and aquatic mammals.
The oil spill forced miles of beaches to close down to make way for cleanup operations. The spill also triggered debate over the continued offshore drilling in federal waters and the state of hundreds of miles of pipelines installed underwater.
