A 60-foot fishing boat ran aground at Chinese Harbor on Santa Cruz Island early Thursday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, and multiple agencies were responding to the incident.
At about 2 a.m, Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach personnel received a report from Vessel Assist Ventura about the fishing vessel Speranza Marie, which had six people and approximately 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel on board.
There were no injuries to the six crew members, as a good Samaritan fishing vessel safely transported them to Ventura.
“The Coast Guard is working with local partners, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response and the responsible party to create a pollution mitigation and removal plan,” the Coast Guard said in a news release Thursday.
“Cleanup crews are on-scene containing and recovering the diesel fuel. Diesel fuel is considered a non-persistent oil, compared to a heavier bunker or crude oil product, in even the calmest sea conditions, as it will lose 40% of its volume due to evaporation within 48 hours in cold weather.”
Vessel Assist Ventura is working on salvage operations, and the Coast Guard Cutter Blacktip was en route to monitor the situation.
The Coast Guard also said that no wildlife impacts have been observed or reported, but crews are monitoring and OSPR responders are on standby to be activated if needed.
