US officials want ships to anchor farther from California undersea pipelines, citing 2021 oil spill
Federal investigators have concluded that a 2021 rupture of an undersea oil pipeline off the Southern California coast was likely caused by the proximity of anchored shipping vessels
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — Federal officials on Tuesday recommended increasing the distance from undersea pipelines that vessels are allowed to anchor in Southern California, citing a 2021 oil spill they said was caused by ships whose anchors were dragged across a pipeline after a storm.
The leak occurred in a ruptured pipeline owned by Houston-based Amplify Energy. National Transportation Safety Board officials concluded damage to the pipeline had been caused months earlier when a cold front brought high winds and seas to the Southern California coast, causing two container vessels that were anchored offshore to drag their anchors across the area where the pipeline was located.
The October 2021 spill of 25,000 gallons (94,600 liters) sent blobs of crude washing ashore in Huntington Beach and nearby communities, shuttered beaches and fisheries, coated birds with oil and threatened area wetlands.
The Beijing and MSC Danit — each measuring more than 1,100 feet (335 meters) long — had displaced and damaged the pipeline in January 2021, while a strike from the Danit’s anchor caused the eventual crude release, officials said.
The NTSB concluded that the pipeline rupture was likely caused by the proximity of anchored shipping vessels. The agency's board members recommended that authorities increase the safety margin between ships anchored on their way to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and undersea pipelines in the area.
They also urged vessel traffic services across the country to provide audible and visual alarms to those
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