Suspected source of oil spill:
UNDATED
- Investigators tracking the source of an oil slick that killed hundreds
of sea birds off the California coast have their eye on a foreign tanker
that is now out of the country, a source close to the investigation told
Bay NewsVideo on Wednesday.
The crude oil, first spotted Monday Sept. 28 about ten miles off the coast of San Francisco has killed at least 100 birds.
A rescue effort under way at a specially-equipped facility in Santa Cruz had recovered 74 live, oiled birds through today. But only 33 of them have survived.
The exclusive information about the oil's suspected source was relayed to San Francisco station KPIX-TV, which aired the story on its 6:30 p.m. newscast.
The following day, U.S. Coast Guard confirmed the information in statements to the news media, which widely reported the story.
The ship, "Command," is registered out of Liberia, the U.S. Coast Guard said. In addition to shipping records and oil samples, investigators used satellite imaging to aid in their search.
The tanker had been under repair in San Francisco and had previously leaked some oil. Investigators are now trying to match the oil from that leak with a spill in the southern tanker lanes and the cargo onboard the ship now. The ship traveled through the southern shipping lane off the California coast at about the time of the spill.
Bay NewsVideo reported to clients on Wednesday that the best lead had taken investigators to the Central American country of Guatemala where the tanker was docked at last report.
An estimated 13,000 gallons of oil was recovered from as far south as Ano Neuvo State Beach, along with 2,900 pounds of tar balls, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
Rescuers at the Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center in Santa Cruz say the survival rate of the recovered birds has been especially low because the substance appears quite toxic, inflicting severe skin burns in addition to oiling their feathers.
The information about the oil's suspected source was revealed to Bay NewsVideo as its crew gathered information and video for an upcoming segment on a nationally-syndicated television program.
10-8-98