The Coast Guard, along with commercial tug vessels, and the California Department of Fish and Game responded to a vessel, which lost propulsion last night and began drifting close to the Golden Gate Bridge and the rocky Marin Headlands.
At 5:24 p.m., the Petroleum Oil Tank Ship Overseas Cleliamar lost power shortly after transiting under the Golden Gate Bridge while outbound from San Francisco enroute to its next port of call in Ecuador. Within ten minutes, the crew was able to drop the starboard anchor to stabilize the vessel’s position, restored power and backed down under its own power . The vessel had previously discharged its cargo during its port call at Martinez and was carrying no cargo at the time of the incident.
Coast Guard Sector San Francisco immediately launched the Coast Guard Cutter Pike, an 87-foot patrol boat from Yerba Buena Island, three response vessels from Coast Guard Station Golden Gate, and a helicopter from Air Station San Francisco. Four tug boats also responded to assist. Station Golden Gate and Sector San Francisco are units of the Eleventh Coast Guard District with headquarters at Coast Guard Island at Alameda in San Francisco Bay, which is itself part of the larger Coast Guard Pacific Area Command, also with command HDQ at Coast Guard Island in San Francisco Bay.
At 7:22 p.m., an overflight conducted by the Coast Guard helicopter yielded no sign of oil and a visual sweep of the vessel’s hull did not indicate any damage.
The initial assessment by all vessels on scene showed no signs of pollution, and no injuries were reported by any of the 32 crew members onboard. The Coast Guard conducted alcohol testing on the pilot, the master of the vessel, and additional crewmembers with negative results. Additional tests are pending.
Two commercial oil response boats, the Coast Guard Cutter Pike and assets from Station Golden Gate, Station San Francisco, Station Vallejo will remain on scene through the night and into the morning. An overflight will be conducted by the Coast Guard at first light Wednesday morning. Coast Guard Marine Inspectors and Investigators attended the vessel and will conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the incident.
The Overseas Cleliamar is 741-feet long, 38,653 gross tons, and is registered in the Marshall Islands. The Overseas Cleliamar is a Panamax-class vessel. The ship is owned by Overseas Shipholding Group of New York.
USCGC Pike was built by Bollinger Shipyard, Inc. of Lockport, Louisiana, in September 2005. This vessel employs the latest advances in navigation and marine technology. A fully integrated electronics suite coordinates radar, satellite navigation, gyrocompass, autopilot and computer generated charts to form a compact and user-friendly command and control system for the ship’s personnel.
After weathering Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, and Tropical Storm Gamma, Lt.j.g. Bixler and his crew safely navigated more than 4,700 nautical miles from Louisiana to California. During their trip, the Pike crew delivered 1,500 pounds of disaster relief supplies to Guatemala, received a visit from the U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua, performed two port security assessments, and conducted a professional exchange and nation building exercise with the Colombian Navy.
The Pike is one of the most advanced coastal patrol boats in the world and is helping the U.S. Coast Guard to respond to America’s maritime needs well into the 21st Century.
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Time-lapse animated map
See a time-lapse animated map showing the movements of the Overseas Cleliamar, USCGC Pike, CG25531, CG47245 and harbor tugs Z-Four (first responder), Revolution, Millenium Falcon, Lynn Marie and Millenium Star at Boatingsf.com
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U. S. Coast Guard Facts, Links, Photos
U. S. Coast Guard: America's First-Line Guardians - a tribute to CG-6505
U. S. Coast Guard Marches in Review before President Obama
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