Speranza Maria
Speranza Maria (#106961) (-2022), 60-foot seiner that went aground at Chinese Harbor, Santa Cruz Island on December 15, 2022.
In the News~
December 15, 2020 [edhat.com]: “The Coast Guard, state, and local agencies are responding to a fishing vessel that ran aground on Santa Cruz Island Thursday morning. Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach watchstanders received a report from Vessel Assist Ventura that the fishing vessel Speranza Marie, a 60-foot fishing vessel with six people aboard and carrying roughly 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel, ran aground in Chinese Harbor on Santa Cruz Island at approximately 2 a.m. A good Samaritan fishing vessel responded to the incident and safely transferred the six crewmembers to their boat without injury and transported them to Ventura. Vessel Assist is currently working on salvage operations. The Coast Guard Cutter Blacktip is en route to monitor the situation and provide a safety zone around the incident. The Coast Guard is working with local partners, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response and the responsible party to create a pollution mitigation and removal plan. Cleanup crews are on-scene containing and recovering the diesel fuel. Diesel fuel is considered a non-persistent oil, compared to a heavier bunker or crude oil product, in even the calmest sea conditions, as it will lose 40% of its volume due to evaporation within 48 hours in cold weather. No wildlife impacts have been reported/observed at this time, but crews are monitoring for them. Trained responders from OSPR have been put on standby and will be activated should they be needed. The cause of the incident is currently under investigation.”
December 15, 2020 [US Times Post]: “A fishing vessel ran aground on Santa Cruz Island Thursday morning, prompting the U.S. Coast Guard to initiate oil cleanup operations, the agency said. The 60-foot Speranza Marie ran aground around 2 a.m. in China Harbor on the northeast side of the island. The vessel was carrying six people and approximately 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel, the Coast Guard said in a news release. A photo posted on Twitter by Scott Safechuck, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department’s public information officer, showed the ship on its left or port side near a rocky shoreline. A “Good Samaritan” fishing boat responded to the wreck and transported the six crew members — none of whom were injured — to Ventura, the Coast Guard said in a news release. Clean-up crews were on site Thursday afternoon to “contain and recover the diesel fuel,” and recovery operations were underway, the agency said. The fuel is likely to evaporate quickly even in cold weather, the Coast Guard said. “Diesel fuel is considered an unstable oil compared to a heavier bunker or crude oil product even in the calmest sea conditions because it loses 40% of its volume to evaporation in 48 hours in cold weather,” the agency said. “No wildlife impacts have been reported/observed at this time, but crews are monitoring them,” officials said. Employees from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response have been placed on standby. The cause of the accident is being investigated. ”
December 15, 2020 [US Times Post]: “First responders are working to prevent a spill from a fishing vessel that went aground on Santa Cruz Island, California on Thursday morning. At about 0200, U.S. Coast Guard Sector LA/Long Beach received a call that the fishing vessel Speranza Marie had gone aground in Chinese Harbor, Santa Cruz. Six people were aboard, and they were rescued by another nearby fishing vessel without incident. They were transported safely to Ventura. Cleanup crews are already on scene to ensure containment and recover the boat's 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel. No wildlife effects have been observed so far, and any spilled diesel will dissipate quickly, the Coast Guard said. The cause of the grounding is under investigation. The Santa Barbara County Fire Department and the California Department of Fish & Wildlife are assisting with the response, and salvage operations are expected to begin Friday. Chinese Harbor is a wide bay fronted by steep headlands on the northern side of Santa Cruz, one of the five islands in Channel Islands National Park. The nearby waters are a designated marine sanctuary and are within a UNESCO biosphere reserve. ”
