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Coast Guard: 1,200-foot ship dragged California oil pipeline

During a prior visit by the ship during a heavy storm in January, investigators believe its anchor dragged for an unknown distance.

Credit: AP

People play on the sand in the background as workers in protective suits clean the contaminated beach after an oil spill in Newport Beach, Calif., on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. A major oil spill off the coast of Southern California fouled popular beaches and killed wildlife while crews scrambled Sunday, to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — Investigators believe a massive cargo ship dragging anchor in rough seas caught an underwater oil pipeline and pulled it across the seafloor, months before a leak from the line fouled the Southern California coastline.

A team of federal investigators trying to chase down the cause of the spill boarded the Panama-registered MSC DANIT just hours after it arrived this weekend off the Port of Long Beach.

That's the same area where the leak was discovered in early October.

During a prior visit by the ship during a heavy storm in January, investigators believe its anchor dragged for an unknown distance before striking the 16-inch steel pipe.

Read the full story HERE.

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