CeNCOOS Response to the 2007 San Francisco Bay Oil Spill
SF Chronicle photo by Kurt Rogers.

The San Francisco Bay oil slick on November 7, 2007 near the east side of Angel Island.

On November 7, 2007, the container ship M/V Cosco Busan struck the Oakland-Bay Bridge in San Francisco Bay spilling an estimated 58,000 gallons of bunker fuel into the Bay. In the days that followed, currents spread the oil throughout the Bay and to coastal areas outside the Bay.

CeNCOOS Contributions
In collaboration with the Coastal Ocean Currents Monitoring Program (COCMP), CeNCOOS assisted in the spill tracking with surface current and trajectory information using the High Frequency Radar system in SF Bay and along the California coast. Real-time surface current information can be found on the CeNCOOS site and COCMP site.

CeNCOOS provided environmental information to the spill responders: NOAA Office of Response and Restoration, NOAA HAZMAT, NOAA Sanctuaries, and the Oil Spill Prevention and Response program. This included continuously updating surface trajectories, such as those available on the CeNCOOS Site. It also included observed and predicted currents used by NOAA's tracking model and individual trajectory snapshots at critical locations (created by COCMP). The sample trajectories on this page coincide with initial news reports of oil on SF piers and Alcatraz followed by oil that showed up on outer coast beaches south of Bolinas and Rodeo Beach.

Information on the spill and response is included in the links to below:

Oil Spill Response:

Oil Spill  Maps and Photos:

Oil Spill Impacts

An EPA report on oil contaminants in fish and shellfish in the Bay after spill
- Initially unsafe contaminant levels eventually returned to normal (view pdf)

Fishing industry impacts: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/news/news07/07082.html

Up-to-date to information on the federal investigation and marine bird mortalities were provided by SF Gate

View Marin Independent news report: one year after oil spill - impacts unknown


For more information contact Heather heather@mbari.org.