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A ship that is believed to be responsible for dragging an anchor across the seabed striking a crucial oil pipeline the cracked and caused a massive oil spill off that coast of Huntington Beach, California in October, has been identified.
The U.S. Coast Guard together with the National Transportation Safety Board Friday identified the cargo ship Costco Beijing as the vessel that was likely involved in the incident.
Although the pipe was hit by the anchor in January, it didn't completely puncture until October of this year.
On Thursday, investigators boarded the vessel Thursday at the Port of Long Beach.
The Cosco Beijing cargo ship is under investigation for its potential involvement in an early October oil spill off the Southern California coastline
The US Coast Guard reported the California Pipeline spilled thousands of gallons of oil into the Pacific Ocean, but it's believed the pipeline was damaged in January
The pipe (circled in red) was dragged 105 feet away and is bowed after a suspected anchor dragged it across the ocean floor
Roughly 25,000 gallons of oil have spilled into the ocean, a SoCal Oil Response rep explained
The owner's of Beijing, Capetanissa Maritime Corp. of Liberia, and operator, V.Ships Greece Ltd. are both named as 'parties in interest' in the investigation.
It means the companies will now be able to be examined more closely as the probe into the spill moves
