A section of the oil pipeline that burst off the Southern California coast was displaced 105 feet (32 meters) across the ocean floor, officials said on Tuesday, fueling speculation that a ship's anchor may have caused the environmental disaster.
came under further scrutiny about the time it took to respond to the spill, amid reports that mariners first reported seeing oil in the water on Friday night, when official notification did not come until Saturday around midday.
In all a 4,000-foot section of the 17.7-mile pipeline was displaced laterally, as discovered by a remotely operated vehicles, U.S. Coast Guard Captain Rebecca Ore told reporters. A "good Samaritan" first reported an oil sheen on the water's surface to authorities on Friday night, but that information was "inconclusive," said Ore, the Coast Guard captain.
Huntington Beach, which advertises itself as Surf City USA, is one of the rare places in Southern California where oil platforms are visible from the beach. The pipeline runs along the ocean floor from the Elly platform, about nine miles offshore in 255 feet of water, then heads toward port. On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation said the entire pipeline should remain shut until ordered to be reopened.
Before the pandemic, there was typically no more than one container ship at anchor in the bay, according to Captain Kip Louttit of the Marine Exchange.
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