USS Wenonah; Treasure Island, San Francisco Bay, CA
NOAA initial notification: “In the early afternoon of 17AUG2009, CA's Office of Spill Prevention & Response personnel notified the regional NOAA SSC of a diesel & waste oil release from a partially-sunken tugboat on the East side of Treasure Island in Central San Francisco Bay, CA causing an initial sheen […]”[1]
Latest included source report
Posted 31 Aug 2009
Latest source report
“Bay Bridge construction crane gives tug a lift Michael Cabanatuan, Chronicle Staff Writer Saturday, August 29, 2009 A tugboat that sank recently off Treasure Island is hoist... A recovery crew works to lower cables used to salvage the... Cathy Connelly, of El Sobrante, watches as a recovery cre... A recovery crew works to lower the cables used to salvage... More... A weary old […]” Current outcome is not independently verified by seahazards.[4]
NOAA report chronology
4 dated source records · 17 Aug 2009 to 31 Aug 2009NOAA incident record opened
Initial notification excerpt: “In the early afternoon of 17AUG2009, CA's Office of Spill Prevention & Response personnel notified the regional NOAA SSC of a diesel & waste oil release from a partially-sunken tugboat on the East side of Treasure Island in Central San Francisco Bay, CA causing an initial sheen of 200’x200’. No NOAA support was requested. By mid-afternoon, the vessel was surrounded by containment boom, no more sheen had been observed outside the boom and plans were being prepared to raise the vessel and remove the remaining fuel. The vessel’s maximum capacity was estimated at 10,000 gallons though on-scene observations indicated that she was probably carrying far less than that and 100-500 gallons may have […]”
NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track
Initial incident area only. Dates are NOAA postings, not a vessel track. Playback advances every 5 seconds.
Milestone 1 of 4: 17 Aug 2009. NOAA incident record opened. NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track
NOAA incident record opened
Initial notification excerpt: “In the early afternoon of 17AUG2009, CA's Office of Spill Prevention & Response personnel notified the regional NOAA SSC of a diesel & waste oil release from a partially-sunken tugboat on the East side of Treasure Island in Central San Francisco Bay, CA causing an initial sheen of 200’x200’. No NOAA support was requested. By mid-afternoon, the vessel was surrounded by containment boom, no more sheen had been observed outside the boom and plans were being prepared to raise the vessel and remove the remaining fuel. The vessel’s maximum capacity was estimated at 10,000 gallons though on-scene observations indicated that she was probably carrying far less than that and 100-500 gallons may have […]”
NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track (37.821°, -122.361°)
Evening update for 28AUG2009
Source report excerpt: “Today's salvage activities were focussed on removing the USS Wenonah from the waters of San Francisco Bay. A 1,700MT derrick barge that had been in the vicinity for the construction of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge was to lift the tugboat onto a barge-mounted cradle, once dewatering of the vessel was completed. Unfortunately, the de-watered tug turned out to be much heavier than expected and around 70tons too heavy for the cradle's design weight. Global Diving patched the suspended hull and the tug will be lowered back in the water with pumps maintained overnight and possibly thru the weekend. The derrick barge will be released and a revised removal plan will be developed and […]”
Stern view of the raised USS Wenonah
Source report excerpt: “Stern view of the USS Wenonah shortly after she cleared the water. At this point, the total weight of the tug was obtained and found to be too heavy for the design weight of the barge-mounted cradle. Photo taken by JStout, NOAA SSC.”
SF Chronicle Story
Source report excerpt: “Bay Bridge construction crane gives tug a lift Michael Cabanatuan, Chronicle Staff Writer Saturday, August 29, 2009 A tugboat that sank recently off Treasure Island is hoist... A recovery crew works to lower cables used to salvage the... Cathy Connelly, of El Sobrante, watches as a recovery cre... A recovery crew works to lower the cables used to salvage... More... A weary old Navy tugboat that gave up the fight to stay afloat off Treasure Island two weeks ago got a helping hand Friday from a strapping young neighbor who's helping to build the new Bay Bridge. The floating crane known as the Left Coast Lifter - yes, that's its real name - easily hoisted the gray Wenonah from its watery and […]”
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Details in the record
- Source record
- NOAA IncidentNews 8075[1]
Reading this account
Automatically assembled from NOAA's incident record and substantive Public Affairs or Situation Update posts. Dates are NOAA posting dates, which can differ from when events happened or original reports were published. Excerpts retain the source's wording and uncertainty. This account does not independently establish the cause, current outcome or safety of the area. NOAA coverage is selective; missing updates do not mean nothing happened. The map shows one approximate incident area, not a vessel track.
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Original sources
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- 1.USS Wenonah; Treasure Island, San Francisco Bay, CA ↗NOAA Office of Response and Restoration · 17 Aug 2009
- 2.Evening update for 28AUG2009 ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 29 Aug 2009
- 3.Stern view of the raised USS Wenonah ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 29 Aug 2009
- 4.SF Chronicle Story ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 31 Aug 2009
Related records in our archive
Original source text, preserved separately from this account.
NOAAORR-8075 NOAA response record
USS Wenonah; Treasure Island, San Francisco Bay, CA. Treasure Island, San Francisco Bay, CA. 1. In the early afternoon of 17AUG2009, CA's Office of Spill Prevention & Response personnel notified the regional NOAA SSC of a diesel & waste oil release from a partially-sunken tugboat on the East side of Treasure Island in Central San Francisco Bay, CA causing an initial sheen of 200’x200’. No NOAA support was requested. By mid-afternoon, the vessel was surrounded by containment boom, no more sheen had been observed outside the boom and plans were being prepared to raise the vessel and remove the remaining fuel. The vessel’s maximum capacity was estimated at 10,000 gallons though on-scene observations indicated that she was probably carrying far less than that and 100-500 gallons may have been released. Sector San Francisco then contacted the NOAA SSC on 18AUG2009 stating that the vessel was continuing to release sheen and requested estimates of oil fate and extent. 2. THREAT: OIL. COMMODITY: DIESEL, WASTE OIL, HYDRAULIC FLUID. MAXIMUM POTENTIAL RELEASE: 10000 GALLONS. 3. POSITION 37.821N 122.361W. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 8075: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/8075Open record and warning history →
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