US officials want ships to anchor farther from California undersea pipelines, citing 2021 oil spill

HUNTINGTON BEACH, California.- Federal officials on Tuesday recommended increasing the distance from undersea oil pipelines to which ships can anchor in Southern California, citing a 2021 oil spill they said was caused by ships whose anchors were dragged through a pipeline after a storm.

The leak occurred in a burst pipe owned by Houston-based Amplify Energy. National Transportation Safety Board officials concluded that damage to the pipeline had been caused months earlier, when a cold front brought strong winds and storm surge to the Southern California coast, causing two anchored container ships to collapse. on the high seas they would drag their anchors through the area where the pipeline was located. .

The 25,000-gallon (94,600-liter) spill in October 2021 sent drops of crude oil ashore in Huntington Beach and nearby communities, closed beaches and fisheries, covered birds in oil and threatened area wetlands.

The Beijing and MSC Danit, each measuring more than 335 meters (1,100 feet) long, had displaced and damaged the pipeline in January 2021, while a hit by the Danit’s anchor caused the eventual release of crude, officials said.

The NTSB concluded that the pipeline rupture was likely caused by the proximity of anchored shipping vessels. Agency board members recommended authorities increase the safety margin between ships anchored on their way to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and undersea oil pipelines in the area.

They also urged vessel traffic services across the country to provide audible and visual alarms to those tasked with monitoring when vessels anchor near pipelines. Procedures are also needed to notify pipeline operators when a potential incursion occurs, they said.

The recommendations, as well as several others, emerged from a nearly four-hour hearing on the spill, one of the largest in Southern California in recent years.

NTSB lead investigator Andrew Ehlers said the pipeline carrying crude oil from offshore platforms to shore was located about 1,500 feet (457 meters) from ship anchorages in the area.

Amplify, which pleaded guilty to a federal charge of negligently discharging crude oil after the spill, said the pipeline strike was not reported to the company or U.S. authorities. “If any of the international shipping companies had notified us about this anchor dragging event, this event would not have occurred,” the company said in a statement.

Since the spill, Amplify agreed to install new leak detection technology and also reached a civil settlement with local residents and businesses that offer surf lessons and leisure cruises in Huntington Beach, a city of nearly 200,000 people known as “Surf City USA “, which claimed to have been negatively affected by the spill.

Meanwhile, Amplify and local companies sued shipping companies associated with Beijing and Danit. Those lawsuits were settled earlier this year.