By Khalida Sarwari
The U.S. Coast Guard responded to a small oil spill today, emanating from a private vessel anchored at Clipper Cove southwest of Yerba Buena Island in the San Francisco Bay, a U.S. Coast Guard petty officer said.
The Coast Guard was notified shortly before 10 a.m. of a visible light sheen emitting from a partially sunken derelict vessel called “Pabo Grande,” Coast Guard Lt. Junior Grade Christina Jones said.
Jones said the vessel had minimal oil on board.
The Coast Guard placed a containment boom around the vessel this afternoon to prevent the sheen from spreading out and on Wednesday, with the help of a contracting company, will right the vessel to remove oil and mitigate pollution, Jones said.
The cause of the oil spill is likely weather-related, Jones said. Based on preliminary assessments, the Coast Guard could not determine the potential pollution threat aboard the vessel.