Coast Guard Looking for Owner of Submerged Boat Found Leaking Diesel

By Bay City News Service

The United States Coast Guard is trying to locate and notify the owner of a boat found submerged and leaking diesel fuel in a South San Francisco marina early Saturday morning.

The Coast Guard was notified of a 40-foot vessel submerged at dock four in Oyster Cove Marina at 12:05 a.m., by a good Samaritan who reported noticing the strong smell of diesel.

Responding officers authorized $15,000 in funding from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to clean up any discharged oil and brought in Parker Diving as the spill response contractor, according to the Coast Guard.

By 5:40 a.m. divers were able to plug the vents leaking oil and deploy boom to contain any that had already been discharged into the water.

Luckily, there are no environmentally sensitive areas nearby that would be adversely impacted by the contamination, according to the Coast Guard.

So far investigators say they have not determined who owns the vessel or how it became submerged.