Second Oil Spill in Los Angeles in a Month

The Los Angeles Harbor has been hit with a second oil spill in less than a month following the one involving MOL’s car carrier Istra Ace in early March.

Namely, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) received on Thursday morning a report on an unknown quantity of oily-water mixture coming from a holding tank residing on the Vopak Terminal.

As informed, the majority of the oil released has been reported as being contained on the pier, however, some of the oil water mixture entered the water.

A Mexican-flagged tanker ship Tula got tangled in the middle of the incident and has been prevented from leaving the terminal until it is full cleaned.

“The tanker ship, Tula, is currently moored inside the Vopak Terminal. Cleaning the Tula is a priority and the vessel has been issued a restricted in movement and has been ordered not to leave port until it has been properly decontaminated,” the coast guard said.

Oil spill response organizations including the National Response Corporation, Ocean Blue, and Patriot Environmental are sent to the scene and are conducting clean-up operations using oil skimmers and absorbent pads. Containment boom was also deployed around the tanker ship TULA to minimize the spread of pollution, the coast guard added.

Coast Guard investigators from Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach are currently investigating the report.

The spill comes just two weeks after clean-up efforts were completed following the spill involving MOL’s Istra Ace. The ship was reported to had been leaking heavy fuel in the Cerritos channel at Berth 198, after an initial investigation revealed faulty piping that may have allowed oil to leak from the starboard side of the ship.