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Subscribe to RSSThwe Coast Guard was investigating after a tanker scraped the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge near San Francisco.
An oil tanker brushed up against a support of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge on Monday, but no oil was leaking and no injuries were reported, authorities said.
Television video showed what appeared to be scrapes on both the ship and the support. A spokeswoman for the California Transportation Department told reporters that the agency was inspecting the bridge, on which traffic was continuing to flow.
The tanker sideswiped the western tower of the bridge's western span shortly after 11:30 a.m., officials said at a news conference Monday afternoon.
The 750-foot tanker, the Overseas Reymar, which sails under the flag of the Marshall Islands, had left port on course for the port of Esmaraldas in northwest Ecuador, shipping records show. It was built in 2004.
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Were there any fires?
brushed up against a support doesn't sound quite as exiting, huh?
It's S.F., so the tanker must have brushed up against a rear end support.
Apparently, oil tanker captains are not tested to see if they can drive a boat.
I really find it interesting that the world has so many tankers spilling their guts. That goes for pipelines and ocean platforms. Then when they do have a problem, what did not work the last time for cleaning up the mess is used over and over.
BP is bragging about how much better they have made the shores they ruined when much of the detruction is still there, only they are not on the tourist beaches. The Valdeas spill in Alaska is still not clean.
Apparently the oil giants have the power to ignore any of our cares. I'm fantisizing if public executions of those responsible, including CEOs, would make a difference?
I'm still waiting for that ecological holocost in the Gulf that the tree huggers were predicting.
Pippo,
The gulf beaches are very clean, and have been fully opened. There is very little left of the Valdez incident.
Executions? You are completely bonkers!
OK Who's going to be the first to say ,ban oil tankers. And the winner is __________— LOL
Why not tell us if it hit part of the new bridge or part of the old one?
Tankers in our waters should all be double-hulled. It is not clear if this one was or not. The United States registered tankers are required to be so, but many oil companies register their tankers under the flags of nations that do not require this preventative measure. A single-hull tanker in this situation could very easily have been ruptured. Sorry, but there is an ecological price paid when we have oil spills. Take a look at the amount of money spent on the clean-ups. The reason the negative impact on the environment has not been as severe when these spills occur is due to the fact that millions ... or billions ... of dollars have been poured into the immediate emergency containment and long-term clean up projects.
Mistakes happen. Good engineering prevents those mistakes from resulting in disaster.
Don't montion the dead zone in the gulf. Or the almost daily oil leaks along the Alaskan pipeline. Or the explosions and fires. Or drifting platforms. Don't mention the corexit used by the UK company that caused the spill is banned for use in the UK. Speak no evil...
Not the Captains fault. That bridge is a Tanker Magnet.
The navigation channel through there is only 1,400 feet wide...
alan_static, you are not quite clear in the head to even post this! Which part of the article is so complicated for you? Let us know, we will help. Take your pills and go to sleep.
First thing comes to mind, was the Pilot still on board? If yes, I would guess he will be directing traffic in SF.
If this were a motor vehicle collision, wouldn't this incident be called a 'hit and run' (or failure to perform the duties of an operator)? Tankers don't carry but a dozen to twenty crew normally, so its possible that they didn't know they made contact, but em.... hear it, feel it at least?
Heavy fog is common at the Golden Gate passage in San Francisco Bay. Stiff and shifting winds, too (and judging from the photo the ship is riding high and empty which effectively makes her a 750-foot-long "sail" in high winds). But neither of those weather conditions are mentioned in the article, unless I missed them.
So if it was a clear, calm day in the bay, this collision outside of the shipping channel is really curious. I wonder what the heck happened?
ED-2874315 - The western span mentioned in the article is the section of the bridge, from Treasure Island to San Francisco, that is not being replaced.
Sees Thru Gloss - What's it like going through life as a moron?
What wasn't in the story is was this ship being guided by a pilot boat at the time or was it full control of the captain.
God forbid that anything happens to that bridge it's the longest bridge in the world as it goes from Africa to fairyland!!!.
DRMorg,
Thanks.
The bridge just jumped out in front of him
I have a better idea. Ban all cars in CA so there is no need for tankers bringing fuel. It is a win-win for all the environmental whack jobs in CA. When environmentalists give up all forms of fossil fuel then I will be willing to listen to their whining and moaning. Take a hike!
Holy Capt.Joe Hazelwood Batman! 7.62x39mm, that's just wrong,never the less,funny as hell!
7.62x39mm
God forbid that anything happens to that bridge it's the longest bridge in the world as it goes from Africa to fairyland!!!.
fenderbluesjr
Holy Capt.Joe Hazelwood Batman! 7.62x39mm, that's just wrong,never the less,funny as hell!
To both of you -- I can see how being racist AND homophobic is "funny as hell." Not.
7.62 and you are a jerkoff
raleigh dolly -- Your comment makes no sense whatever. Environmentalists don't want to go back to the days of candles and firewood. They want progress in alternative energy to eventually replace fossil fuels and decrease carbon emissions, land erosion, oil spills and on and on. The only people who don't understand that are the ones who work for oil companies, invest in oil companies or lobby for oil companies.
If it wasn't a tanker would all those screaming against oil just ignore this article and go find another one that fits their agenda?
We had strong winds here in So Cal. today and I got to wonder if SF had the same thing. As someone else pointed out the tanker appears to be riding high in the water and that makes it less controllable in winds
DRMorg, Sorry to have offended your sexuality if you are gay and live in San Francisco. And, if you are black and live in Oakland. And if you are neither,STFU!
First off if you look at how high the ship was in the water you would realize it was empty, no threat of a spill. there in San Francisco I guess you refer to it as a Celibate boat, non performing, delinquent or an empty hull just not wanted, useless no real threat, practicing abstinence, but acting in a profane manner. what a tease she is. rubbing her behind allover the Bay, shame! shame! shame! bad boat!.... But very San Franciscan
@D Apple you are right all American ships are required to be double hulled that is why America does not build ships any more, that little poorly thought out law cost us our shipbuilding industries now all ships are built elsewhere and single hulled ships are all over the place, what is not all over the place is American manufactured Ships, they are history. out of the hundreds there are only a couple that build for our navy. the rest are foreign made. if the environmentalists could get there head out of dark smelly places they would have seen that one coming instead of encouraging the backfire. all they did was kill another American industry and assist the foreign market while not changing a thing to protect the shipping lanes. another half thought solution that hurt us beyond all reasoning, and repair.
D-Buck
I agree and disagree with you. I agree that we lost the ship building jobs because of the double hulling to a point. You can thank the shipwright builders union there too. I have to disagree with you though as the double hulling is a good thing. I live on the coast and like to enjoy an oil spill free beach and nontoxic fishing.
I am a conservative and thus I believe in conservancy and conservation. I don't believe that all our problems man causes can be cured by praying to God. He is too busy with all the other problems going on and that we need to take the superior brain he gave man and do what is right.
Better check the captain's cell phone records to see if he was texting..
One may note that the Ship's Captain was probably not in control of the ship. Ports require that ships be controlled by a local Port Pilot when entering or leaving port!
@D Buck
Actually, you are wrong. We still have viabile shipbuilding companies in the United States. SENESCO Marine, DonJon, Master Boat Builders, Eastern Shipbuilding, Halter Marine, Harvey Gulf International and others are doing just fine economically and turn out well-made American barges, tankers, push boats, tugs, etc. The U.S. shipbuilding industry now accounts for $20 billion in annual revenue and employs over 87,000 workers. (Source: Shipbuilders Council of America). You seem to be one of those people who simply refuse to believe that America manufactures anything these days. That's not true.
The ONLY problem is that the oil companies, despite record profits, try to find every damned loophole possible to save a dime irregardless of the damage those savings may cost.
I, for one, am sick of the bullcrap of always putting economics ahead of human health. I absolutely DO believe in companies being allowed to make profits. However, they have obligations other than their bottom line. They do not have the right to choose profits over the health and safety of people.
That is one San Francisco Bay pilot who is going to be looking for new employment. It is inexcusable for something like this to happen. These pilots are supposed to know the waters so well that they can draw the charts from a blank piece of paper from memory. Since the article makes no mention of the ship experiencing any mechanical problems, the only possible reason for this is that the pilot made a big mistake. Hopefully there was no real damage to the bridge.
Maybe currents were different or something, but yes, the pilot is in some deep water (no pun intended) right now.
He's also in "hot water," LOL.
CTM, "career terminating move."
Give the pilot a break. Did anyone die?
To 3ric. The tides and currents in the bay are well known and predictable, there is a constant flow of tankers in and out of the bay due to the refineries there and no excuse to make contact with the bridge based on currents or tides.
Alan, I'm all about giving people breaks but if there is any sort of damage, even minor, they will need to shut down the bridge to do work on it. The work could be expensive and the damage to the area's economy could be detrimental if commuters can't use that bridge.
How much do you suppose they will charge the captain to repair the damage?
Or quite possibly the author did not have all the facts at the time the article was written. Given the lack of detail and the briefness of the article, that is a very real possibility. Could it have been due to a mistake made by the pilot? Absolutely, but a number of other things out of the pilot's control could have caused it as well.
alan_static--Give the pilot a break. Did anyone die?
No, but I heard the pilot burst into flames.
Better raise the San Francisco's Bay Bridge.. Maybe it scraped the bridge because of rising water levels. Could be a global warming thing. Just a thought.
There is a great need for a sarcasm font right Thomas?
The side of the tanker made contact with a support pillar, not the top of the tanker with the span of the bridge. Maybe a long ways down the road we'll need to worry about sea levels changing that much.
More like suckasm.
Ooops posted in the wrong spot.
riverboy21,
"Ooops posted in the wrong spot."
That's alright. At least you didn't say anything stupid.
Riverboy: Anyone that can land a fish like that can definitely be forgiven.
IF that's you, of course. Go ahead - tell me its your cousin posing with YOUR fish. :)
Thanks Alex. It's me in the dead of winter on a stormy day, I think the fish went 7-8 lbs. There was a break in the rain but the wind was blowing too hard use the trolling motor, so we tied up to a tree in a creek and that was the first cast.
Classic bridge! I hope no real damage was done! I walked it once... a great experience.
You might be thinking of the Golden Gate Bridge, there isn't much special about the Bay Bridge unless you like gray cement.
riverboy21,
"there isn't much special about the Bay Bridge unless you like gray cement."
Or getting from Oakland to San Francisco without having to go the long way around. That's something special about the Bay Bridge, too, and I think that's the reason they built it to begin with.
Ever notice, on the Bay Bridge, that they charge you a toll to LEAVE Oakland, but NOT one to enter Oakland? Yeah, they catch you later on, if you try to leave Oakland some other way, but that should tell you something about Oakland...
Lol nice one Mickey, hope you know what I meant though :)
CalTrans has issued a statement stating no damage was done to the bridge. The captain has fully cooperated and he initially called the bridge dept about the issue. Mistakes happen but if you display accountability your far above the scrutiny. I think this captain will get off with a warning and not much more than that.
riverboy21,
"Lol nice one Mickey, hope you know what I meant though :)"
Yeah, I know what you meant. The Bay Bridge is not as pretty as the Golden Gate. It's the Golden Gate's homely little sister. I was just ribbing you, friend.
Good info and point stphy1. Now that the captain has done it once, I bet he/she regrets it and will never make the same mistake again.
No shame in losing a beauty contest against the Golden Gate Mickey, I love the bridge at night with the orange'ish glow from the lights.
It is not possible for an errant fully loaded foreign oil tanker to collide with the support of the Golden Gate Bridge, get hung up there, catch fire and destroy the bridge tower. Hijackers are not allowed on board, it’s a rule.
Nothing to see here move on please.
Did the captain of the italian liner concordia call this pilot and say "oh just get a little closer the people will enjoy the view."
Oh great, another drunken sailer who thinks he's a captain. "You're fired"
Is this a case of maritime hit and run?
Did they do a breathalyzer on the captain? There was just an incident the other day with an airline captain who was arrested for trying to board drunk. Was this a follow up to that?
The bay bridge is always getting hit, it was foggy this morning.
It was 11:30 A.M. There was no fog on the bay. It was completely clear and visibility was perfect. No excuses there. And the bridge is not always getting hit. This is pretty unusual, expecially by an oil tanker with the capacity to cause a very destructive oil spill. The bridge will have to be inspected for damage to insure that their is no compromise of integrity.
Was there a harbor pilot on board?
Who was making sure the ship was where it was suppose to be....
Apparently nobody.
You can tell the news people have nothing better to report, where the hell are the names of our military people, who have died this week, how about talking about them, post their names, say something nice about them.
God bless our Military people over seas, please watch over them.
Captain Hazelwood has apparently found new employment, I had heard he was hangin down around the Marshall islands.
Somehow, Obama must be responsible for this....
teresa is right - this site does need a 'sarcasm' font....
But of course. Even if it was not ,just wait he will do something in response to make it worse.
Not if you listen to Oblah blah, its Bush's fault.LOL
'marshall Islands'' romney owns it eh?
Hazelwood strikes again. Why do they keep hiring that guy.
Kind of hard not to notice a very large structure extending from the waters.
WTF!
Hope everything is ok with the boat and the bridge, but you got to wonder if the seas were rough and the boat got too close, or if there was fog, or a lot of activity under the bridge.
Still. Kind of difficult not to notice the Golden Gate F#king Bridge!!!
Rob: First, it was the BayB, not the Golden.... second:
IT WAS in F#ing SF!!! Why are you asking IF there was any FOG? Hells, I think London must see more of the morning, early-afternoon and evening suns than SF!
There was NO FOG!
In other breaking news, there was a minor fender bender on Main st today. There were no reports of injuries or damage but since we have space to spare we'll report the story.
... just another manic Monday.
Yes, this site definitely needs a 'sarcasm' font.
I'm a former ship driver - incl. vessels as big as this one. Granted, the currents going through the Golden Gate are horrendous and can be a bear to navigate, but this was NOT the Golden Gate, this was the Bay Bridge. It has been on the nautical charts for years. It hasn't moved (at least not since the 1989 quake). It's kind of hard to not see, even in a San Fran fog. If you hit it with your ship, then you are a freakin' idiot and should not be driving a ship. Not even a ship registered in such maritime powers as the Marshall Islands.
Go find the captain of this tub and send him to spend some time with the former captain of the Costa Concordia...
(And for those who characterize this as a minor "fender bender", consider the force of a multi-thousand ton vessel hitting, even lightly, a bridge support at almost any speed - the impact is gonna be horrendous and not just flaked paint...)
If you were a ship driver you would know the term is " helmsman " so I think you need to rewrite your post to make it more believable
Someone is going to get a written warning and a very stern talking to.
In the first place, "scraping" a bridge support is not the same as "hitting" a bridge support. Secondly, how does anyone piloting the ship come anywhere near a bridge support? It's not like they are only 50 feet apart.
Nancy Pelosi has requested 500 Billion in aid for this. Obama said Okay
but wait.
the bill has now grown to 1 trillion due to some late earmark additions for "community programs" .
That's funny...or maybe not. I hope you didn't plant an idea in Rep. Pelosi's head.
Ban oil tankers and oil immediately!!!
Everyone should just sit home in the dark and starve to death.
Obama always chooses people just like himself. They have to be Godless, deceitful, greedy, self-centered, self-serving, and can be bribed.
Hey Will80,then either do something about it or leave,but shut the hell up about every event and accident being caused or the blame to the president,cant stand people like you.Hey its surpose to snow in Chicago tomorrow,maybe he has something to do with that also,because maybe he has cornered the market on road salt too.'en jerk.
@Will80
Honestly ... do you work at being an idiot or does it come to you naturally? The election is long over. The article is in regard to a vessel making contact with the Bay Bridge. Try to stay on point. Maybe you need to increase your dosage of anti-psychotics.
It isn't President Obama that is in bed with the likes of the Koch brothers, Grover Norquist and Karl Rove. It is the Republicans who have openly accepted that they are bought and sold by the power mongers of America. Irt is the Republicans who are piloting this American vessel into a bridge.