Cargo Ships Failing Oil Spill Drill

KCBS
03/23/2008

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- Too many cargo ships operating in California fail very simple oil spill test, according to an extensive review by the Sacramento Bee. The first thing the crew is required to do is pick up a telephone, but many do not.

During unannounced drills, crews are required to make four phone calls within 30 minutes of an oil spill. The first is to the ship’s owner, the second to its cleanup contractor, the third to the California Office of Emergency Services, and lastly they must call a national spill-reporting agency.

The Bee, in a Public Records Act review, found 21 of 164 ships tested, or about one in eight, failed the test. The Cosco Busan, which dumped more than 50 thousand gallons of fuel oil into the Bay in November, also failed to make the required calls.

”The rate of failure has varied quite a bit as well,” said Linda Sheehan, executive director of the California Coastkeeper Alliance, which is a consortium of environmental watchdog groups. “I think when we see two or three years of really consistent numbers, that’s when we can start to feel a little bit more comfortable.”

Click here to listen to the Tim Ryan's interview with CCKA's Linda Sheehan.