ALAMEDA, Calif. – The U.S. Coast Guard is responding to a sunken vessel following a boat fire approximately one mile offshore Santa Cruz, California, Wednesday morning.
The Coast Guard is working with:
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife: Office of Spill Prevention and Response
- Parker Diving Service Redwood Shore Diving Inc.
- Santa Cruz Port District
- Vessel Owner
At 7:40 a.m. Coast Guard Sector San Francisco watchstanders received a report of a 45-foot vessel on fire with two people aboard.
Watchstanders issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast notice to mariners, deployed a Coast Guard Station Monterey boat crew, and coordinated with partner agencies in the area.
Santa Cruz Harbor Patrol (SCHP) and Fire Boat 12 personnel arrived on scene. SCHP rescued both vessel occupants and transported them to Santa Cruz Wharf with no reported injuries.
The Fire Boat 12 crew extinguished the fire with a dewatering pump while the Coast Guard monitored. TowboatUS attempted to salvage the vessel, however, the vessel began taking on water and sank before tow efforts could be made.
The vessel sank to a charted depth of 47 feet. No active discharge or apparent damage to the fuel-storage tanks has been observed. The vessel has an estimated report of 650 gallons of fuel onboard with a capacity of approximately 1000 gallons.
“Our top priorities in any incident are safety of the public and responders and protection of the environment,” said Lt. Cmdr. Mark Leahey, Coast Guard Sector San Francisco Incident Management Division Chief. “We approach every operation with care and deliberate action to mitigate adverse impact to the environment.”
Coast Guard Incident Management Division personnel are working with the vessel owner and monitoring salvage operations.
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
-USCG-