Cosco Busan

The incident 

On the morning of Wednesday 7 November 2007 at around 8:30 am, the container ship Cosco Busan collided with one of the towers of San Francisco Bay Bridge in California. The crash resulted in a 100-foot gash in the hull of the vessel, causing around 50,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil (IFO 380) to leak out into San Francisco Bay. The reason for the accident is as yet unknown.

The Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, proclaimed a State of Emergency upon his visit to the area on 11 November so as to ensure that all the necessary resources were made available as quickly as possible. On the water, skimmers and booms have been deployed to contain and recover the oil. On the shore, a large number of beaches have been closed off and clean-up is underway.

Several birds have been found dead and wildlife recovery teams have been mobilised.