Coast Guard Steps Up Monitoring of Oil Tankers Off Coast of L.A., Long Beach
SAN PEDRO (CNS) - The U.S. Coast Guard announced this morning it has increased monitoring of oil tankers near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
There were 27 tankers off the Southern California coast as of Thursday afternoon, the Coast Guard said.
"Due to the unique nature of this situation, the Coast Guard is constantly evaluating and adapting our procedures to ensure the safety of the vessels at anchor and the protection of the surrounding environment." Cmdr. Marshall Newberry from Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach said.
"Coast Guard watchstanders, in partnership with the Marine Exchange of Southern California, are closely monitoring each anchorage to manage the increased number of tank vessels we're seeing off the California coast."
With plummeting oil prices and around the world because of the economic slowdown stemming from the coronavirus outbreak, oil companies have so= much supply and have run out of facilities to store oil, forcing them to use ships for storage, CBS2 reported.
