US officials want ships to anchor farther from California undersea pipelines, citing 2021 oil spill

By AMY TAXIN
Associated Press

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Federal investigators have concluded that a 2021 rupture of an undersea oil pipeline off the Southern California coast was likely caused by the proximity of anchored shipping vessels. The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday voted to recommend that authorities increase the safety margin between anchored vessels heading to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and undersea pipelines. Board members also recommended that vessel traffic services across the country provide audible and visual alarms when an anchored vessel is nearing a pipeline. The recommendations followed a nearly four-hour hearing about the October 2021 spill of 25,000 gallons of oil off the Southern California coast.