OAKLAND — There were no new signs of fuel leaking into San Francisco Bay as a Coast Guard helicopter crew carried out an overflight and divers conducted an underwater assessment Saturday on a freight barge that sank south of the Bay Bridge.
The check by authorities comes a day after divers from Global Diving and Salvage plugged the leaking fuel vent on the 112-foot-long ship Vengeance, which capsized with an attached crane on Friday afternoon.
So far, no visibly oiled wildlife has been reported or observed, but Coast Guard crews are monitoring for them, authorities reported Saturday.
“We still have a crew on the scene ready to deploy at any time,” said Sarah Wilson, Coast Guard Petty Officer Third Class.
The barge, which was being used by BART, was carrying 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 300 gallons of hydraulic oil when it sank about 12:22 a.m. Friday in about 50 feet of water between Treasure Island and the Transbay Tube off the Port of Oakland.
What caused the barge and the crane to sink is under investigation, but it could have been the result of high winds, officials said. No crew members were on board when it capsized, officials said.
“In all likelyhood, it did correspond to gale-force winds in the bay Thursday night,” Wilson said.
Some 3,000 feet of boom was deployed Friday to keep the spill contained but has since been removed.
Efforts to bring the barge to surface will be determined by Global Diving and Salvage, which has been contracted to do the underwater work and will assess the scope of the plan that must be approved by the Coast Guard, Wilson said.
The barge, usually docked at Treasure Island, is under a maintenance and engineering contract for BART and is part of work that is periodically done to provide protection against corrosion on the Transbay Tube, BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost said in a statement.
There was no damage to the tube, BART said.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention was among the agencies that responded.
Coast Guard Station San Francisco crews are enforcing a safety zone in the area, and a safety marine information bulletin has been sent to local mariners.
