Why did the oil spill off the coast of California?

 

Why did the oil spill off the coast of California?

According to federal investigators, the ship's anchor may have attached, pulled, and ruptured an underwater pipeline that tens thousands of gallons of crude oil into the ocean off Southern California, who also discovered that the pipeline's owner did not shut down quickly. Shutdowns after alerting the security system to the possibility of a spill.

Questions remained about the schedule for the weekend water infiltration, which has spoiled beaches and protected swamps, potentially closing them for weeks along with commercial and recreational fishing in a significant blow to the local economy.

What happened when?

Some reports discovered spill, oil smell, and oily luster on the waters off Huntington Beach on Friday night were received but were not confirmed, and pipeline operator Amplify Energy Corp did not report the spill until the following day; authorities said.

An alarm went off in the company's control room at 2:30 a.m. Saturday. That pressure was low spread in the pipeline, according to preliminary results of the leak investigation.

Investigators said the Houston-based company took another three hours to notify the US Coast Guard's National Response Center about the oil spill, further slowing response to an accident that Amplify workers had spent years preparing for.

Is the anchor wrong?

Federal transportation investigators said Tuesday that the tube slashed at a depth of about 98 feet. Federal transportation investigators said a section about a mile long was towed along the seafloor, possibly by an anchor that had attached it and caused a partial rupture.

"The pipeline was pulled like a bowstring," said Welcher. "At its widest point, it is 105 meters from where it is."

Dozens of cargo ships were seen mooring at sea, sharing space with about half a dozen oil rigs, before heading to the Port of Los Angeles Long Beach on October 5, 2021.

Huge cargo ships regularly pass over the pipeline as they head to the massive Los Angeles Long Beach port complex. They are given the coordinates where they will be hooked up to discharge.

Moored cargo ships are constantly moving due to changing winds and tides, and an incorrect anchor weighing 10 tons or more can pull "everything the anchor is exposed to," said Stephen Brown, a professor at the California State University.

There was no indication that investigators suspected the involvement of a particular ship.

The spill sent up to 140,000 gallons of heavy crude oil into the ocean, but animal rescuers on the beach were pleasantly surprised to find so few birds died in oil.