LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Coast Guard worked with local agencies and commercial response companies to remove a grounded fishing boat from Ormand Beach, Ventura County, Calif., March 15, 2014.
Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach received a distress call from the captain of the fishing boat Kim Thanh reporting that his vessel had run aground late Thursday night.
Crewmembers from Coast Guard Station Channel Islands were on scene within minutes to discover the vessel aground on Ormand Beach with two crew members safely ashore and uninjured.
An assessment by Vessel Assist Ventura revealed that Kim Thanh was flooded and unable to be safely towed from the beach.
Patriot Environment, the Oil Spill Response Organization (OSRO), was contracted by Ventura County to remove any potential fuel onboard, and Vessel Assist was contracted to remove the vessel from the beach.
Ventura County took possession of the vessel, and ensured removal from Ormand Beach, with County Sheriffs securing the scene. Patriot Environmental, Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Santa Barbara, and Vessel Assist arrived on scene Saturday morning to supervise the vessel’s dismantling as well as the draining of the fuel tank. After removal refrigerant and acetylene tanks, 546 gallons of oily water and 20 cubic yards of oily debris, the remaining pieces of the vessel were transported from the beach and properly disposed of.
Alcohol was not a causative factor. The owner of the vessel faces possible fines.
