Marin County Shipwreck Response Shifts To Long-Term Monitoring

MARIN COUNTY, CA — The Marin County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services will be among a coalition of agencies that have been tasked with addressing the long-term pollution threat of a boat grounded at Dillon Beach earlier this month, officials said in a statement Monday.

The response to the grounded boat has shifted from emergency action focused on preventing an oil spill to a long-term monitoring project that will be overseen by local, state and federal officials, the statement said.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Office of Spill Prevention and Response will be among the other agencies involved in the long-term monitoring of the shipwreck.

These were the same groups involved with the initial response, along with the U.S. Coast Guard.

The agencies will focus on addressing the long-term pollution threat and additional environmental concerns from the grounded boat, as well as determining its ultimate fate, officials said late Monday.

Efforts to determine how much fuel, if any, spilled from the American Challenger were halted Saturday after the boat shifted its position on the rocky coastline, endangering the safety of inspectors.

Based on the preliminary assessment conducted, agency officials said the pollution threat appears to be minimal and that no sheen on the water has been reported by aircraft and drone overflights around the ship since Wednesday.

The dismantling of a 4,000-foot boom installed to protect wildlife habitat from potential pollution has begun and should be completed by the end of the week, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Office of Spill Prevention and Response said in a statement.

"The initial emergency oil pollution response efforts are scheduled to conclude at the end of the week when all the boom has been removed from Tomales Bay," the agency said.

"Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary will continue to monitor the coast for evidence of impacts from the grounding and oil spill with regular and enhanced Beach Watch surveys. The sanctuary will also continue to coordinate in other ways with agencies involved in this incident."

The grounded 90-foot boat had been under tow from Puget Sound, Washington, when a rope got tangled in the tugboat's propeller March 5, setting the boat adrift.

Coast Guard Cutter Hawksbill responded to the scene, but the crew was unable to board the drifting boat to attach a tow line due to weather conditions, the proximity to shore and the unknown structural integrity of the unmanned vessel.

The boat eventually came aground at 1 a.m. March 6, on the rocky coastline north of Dillon Beach.

The coalition of agencies leading the effort will provide updates to the project here.

- Bay City News and Patch Staffer Gideon Rubin contributed to this report