The U.S. Coast Guard has considered and set aside the possibility that the boxship Rotterdam Express was responsible for the San Pedro Bay Pipeline oil spill.
According to the operator of the ship, Hapag-Lloyd, a port state boarding and examination of the ship’s logbooks, cleared the vessel and allowed it to proceed to the next port of call.
The pipeline spilled about 125-145,000 gallons of crude oil into San Pedro Bay, with law enforcement officials having launched a criminal investigation.
The inquiry comes after revelations that the pipeline’s operator may have waited more than three hours in between the time of the first low-pressure alarm and the time of pipeline shutdown.
We don’t let criminals conduct their own investigation into their crimes – why would we allow the owner of the oil pipeline to conduct its own investigation into the oil spill?
said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer
The U.S. Coast Guard has also announced that it will treat the spill as a major marine casualty, citing the possible involvement of a vessel and the severity of the resulting economic damages.
