‘Dubai Star’ Spilled up to 800 Gallons

Early hopes that Friday morning’s bunker fuel-spill in Anchorage Nine would have little impact on the Bay have turned out to be unfounded. The Coast Guard is estimating that 400 to 800 gallons of the cruddy junk spilled from the Panamanian-flagged tanker Dubai Star during fueling operations. Despite the deployment of over 50,000 feet of containment boom, the spilled bunker oil has fouled beaches with oil and tar balls in Alameda County, killed at least a dozen sea birds, resulted in an emergency fishing closure between the San Mateo and Bay Bridges, and may have caused environmental damage that’s yet to be assessed. Clean-up operations are currently underway. We know that Clipper Cove has been boomed — effectively closing it to vessel traffic. Has your marina or boat been affected by the spill? Tell us about it.