Americas News
New Rules for San Francisco Bay To Avoid Possible Spills
Outbound tankers and cargo vessels are now barred from passing under the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge during heavy fog restrictions, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The U.S. Coast Guard added the rules in response to the crash of the Overseas Reymar during foggy conditions last month.
"We're responding to the casualty of the Overseas Reymar," said Capt. Cynthia Stowe, head of the Coast Guard's Port of San Francisco sector.
"We're taking a very conservative approach."
The Overseas Reymar was empty when the crash occurred, and no oil was spilled, but fog was also a factor in a 2007 crash, in which the Cosco Busan containership spilled more than 53,000 gallons of fuel oil.
The new rule bars ships weighing more than 1,600 gross tonnes from sailing out of the bay when visibility is less than half a mile.
To avoid ships stacking up outside the bridge and creating safety hazards, inbound ships will still be allowed to move into the port with "extreme caution" in foggy conditions.
The Marshall Islands-flagged Overseas Reymar, owned by OSG Ship Management U.K. and chartered by ConocoPhillips, struck "a glancing blow" to one of the bridge's towers, Bloomberg reported.
