Six people were rescued from a fishing boat that ran aground on one of the Channel Islands off Southern California and spilled diesel fuel early Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
A vessel assistance service reported that the Speranza Marie ran aground at Chinese Harbor on Santa Cruz Island around 2 a.m. and those aboard were safely transferred to another fishing boat and taken to Ventura on the mainland, according to the Coast Guard, which sent a cutter to the scene.
Santa Cruz Island is part of Channel Islands National Park.
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The 60-foot Speranza Marie carried about 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel.
How much spilled was not known, but the Coast Guard said cleanup crews were containing and recovering fuel.
Fishing vessel Speranza Marie lays on its port side at Santa Cruz Island, California, on Dec. 15, 2022.
(Petty Officer 1st Class Richard Brahm/U.S. Coast Guard via AP)
“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,” the Coast Guard press release said.
No impacts on wildlife were reported, but trained responders from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response were put on standby.
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Operations to tow away the stranded vessel were expected to begin Friday morning.
The cause of the grounding was under investigation.
