The oil barge that hit Thursday night the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge was carrying over 2 million gallons of oil that could have spilled making the Cosco Busan spill from two months ago look like a minor accident.
Today the 300-foot-long barge will be moved by the authorities from the base of the bridge. They will try to see why the barrage ran into the bridge, San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Even though the barge was carrying 63, 000 barrels there was no spill of it into the bay, according to the Coast Guard. It didn’t bring any damage to the bridge either.
The accident occurred just as two tugs were dragging the barge through the thick fog from Rodeo. That’s when the right end of the vessels struck a fender of the western tower.
According to Coast Guard Petty Officer Jonathan Cilley, the barge is now near Red Rock.
He didn’t know the destination of barge’s cargo.
Cilley said: "There are plans today to move the barge to a place where they can remove the oil, make repairs and check the structural integrity (of the barge). Caltrans will also investigate the bridge today."
According to him, Thursday night an inspection was carried out by Caltrans officials.
On this inspection it was drawn the conclusion that the bridge’s fender was damaged, according the sayings of agency spokeswoman Phyllis Moore.
The barge Cascades is owned by K-Sea Transportation Partners
LP, having its headquarters in
"I think it's in the best interest of the vessel owner to get the export off the barge," Cilley said regarding the moving of the vessel. “Even though there hasn't been any fuel leaking or water intruding, it's still not seaworthy,” he added.
According to Coast Guard Capt. John Long, the cause of the accident will be investigated as from today.
He said: "Some of the things we'll look into are mechanical failures on the tugboats, human error, fatigue and other factors."
The Coast Guard sent a vessel in 40 minutes at the site of the accident on Thursday night.
It appears that the barge was damaged, but not on the side where the oil is stored.