Amplify CEO Martyn Willsher said at a news conference that it is possible a ship anchor could have struck the pipeline that caused a massive offshore spill off California.
According to Reuters, more oil landed on the southern California shore, with beaches closed and dead fish and birds washing up on shore, while officials investigate whether a ship anchor striking a pipeline could have triggered the leak.
Now, crews dressed in white coveralls and helmets raced against an approaching storm as they cleaned damage from 3,000 barrels of oil that spilled into the Pacific Ocean from a pipeline connected to an offshore facility owned by a unit of Amplify Energy Corp.
Currently, dozens of container ships have been stranded off the coast, awaiting their turn to enter the port. The Coast Guard is assessing whether one of their anchors could have hit the line, said Captain Rebecca Ore.
It is possible they would transit over a pipeline
Officials have also deployed 2,050 feet of protective booms, which help contain and slow the oil flows, and about 3,150 gallons had been recovered on Sunday.
Furthermore, federal officials have stepped up scrutiny of aging and idled offshore energy pipelines. Energy companies have built 40,000 miles (64,000 km) of oil and gas pipelines in federal offshore waters since the 1940s.
However, regulators have failed to address risks from idled pipelines, platforms and other infrastructure on the sea floor, the watchdog U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) said this year.
As pipelines age, they are more susceptible to damage from corrosion, mudslides and sea floor erosion
GAO said.
