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Disabled Container Ship Towed into San Francisco Bay

The United States Coast Guard has reported that the 564-ft container ship Wan Hai 176 has been towed into San Francisco Bay after it reported a loss of engine power on Friday afternoon. The Wan Hai 176 anchored approximately seven miles off Point Reyes overnight as strong winds and rough ocean conditions prevented towing vessels from deploying lines to tow the ship. (The conditions on the ocean off our coast were so severe that the Bay Area Multihull Association canceled the Doublehanded Farallones Race scheduled for Saturday, April 9. We later heard of gusts up to 50 knots outside the Gate, and a high surf advisory.)

On Sunday evening, when the weather had abated, the 112-ft tug Delta Deanna was able to pass tow lines to the Wan Hai 176 crew at its anchored location. Once the lines and anchors were secured, the tug began towing the Wan Hai 176, with the tugs Stacey Foss, Delta Billie, Delta Deanna and Rachel Allen escorting the ship to Anchorage 9 in San Francisco Bay.

Disabled vessel under tow
The Wan Hai 176 under tow to Anchorage 9.
© 2022 USCG Petty Officer 3rd Class Taylor Bacon

The Coast Guard Captain of the Port of San Francisco has ordered the ship to remain at the anchorage until the ship’s engines have been fixed and Coast Guard personnel have conducted an inspection of the ship. Once the Captain of the Port order is removed, the ship is scheduled to be escorted out of San Francisco Bay with tugs.

The Wan Hai 176, a Singapore-flagged vessel with 21 people on board, has approximately 39 thousand gallons of fuel, and is carrying miscellaneous materials in 783 containers. There are no reported hazardous materials.


Video courtesy of USCG.

1 Comment

  1. milly Biller 2 years ago

    Big kudos to the tugboat skippers and their crews to accomplish this rescue without incident. We were on pins and needles out here on Point Reyes as that amount of fuel could have resulted in an ecological disaster here. We were watching closely on the Marine Traffic App.

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