Oil spill kills at least two dozen birds

The Dubai Star leaked between 400 and 800 gallons of oil into the Bay two miles south of the Bay Bridge last Friday morning when a mechanical failure occurred during a bunkering operation with a fuel barge. (Examiner file photo)

SAN FRANCISCO — Crews on Thursday were continuing to clean up areas of the San Francisco Bay affected by last week's oil spill, which has so far resulted in the deaths of 24 shorebirds, according to official estimates, with 37 more birds rehabilitating at an Oiled Wildlife Care Network treatment center in Fairfield.

A mechanical failure that occurred during a bunkering operation with a fuel barge early Friday morning caused the Panamanian tanker Dubai Star to leak between 400 and 800 gallons of oil into the Bay two miles south of the Bay Bridge.

The Dubai Star was taken to Pier 80 in San Francisco while authorities investigated the spill, but the vessel has been approved to leave
and will depart for Martinez some time Friday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Cleanup crews continue to work on controlling the damage caused by the spill, although personnel and volunteers are being demobilized as their work is completed.

Crews are also scaling back booming operations, according to Coast Guard officials.

As of Wednesday night, 8,900 feet of boom remained on the Bay, down from a total of nearly 36,000 feet containing the spill on Monday.

The California Department of Fish and Game and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment have reopened access to fishing
activities along the Alameda County shoreline at San Leandro Bay, the Oakland Inner Harbor, the shoreline south of the southern boundary of Oakland International Airport to the Hayward-San Mateo Bridge, and the shoreline from Oakland Middle Harbor north to the Bay Bridge.

The closures were lifted after state officials determined the recreation areas to be safe from oil contamination, which continues to pose
risks in other areas where fishing from the shore and shellfish gathering are still temporarily prohibited.

The part of the shoreline that remains closed spans from Alameda Point to the southern boundary of the Oakland International Airport.

Fishing from boats on the Bay continues to be permitted, according to officials, though anglers are warned against casting lines in areas where an oil sheen is visible on surface waters.

Anyone who spots an oiled animal should call (877) 823-6926.

The owners of the Dubai Star are responsible for the cost of the cleanup, but Fish and Game spokeswoman Alexia Retallack said that the total cost of the spill will not be known for "quite a while."

Retallack said authorities have to take into account all the costs connected to the cleanup, from the personnel and equipment used, to the
rehabilitation of oiled animals and the economic impact the spill had on the region.

"It's a very complex formula," she said.