It has been more than 60 years since the S.S. Jacob Luckenbach sank off the coast of California near the Golden Gate Bridge鈥攂ut that doesn鈥檛 mean the damage caused by the massive shipwreck is over. Last December, nine oiled birds washed ashore between Santa Cruz and Monterey, coated in sludge still leaking out of the cargo vessel. The birds have since been taken in by the International Bird Rescue鈥檚 wildlife center (five have already been released in full health鈥攖he other four died). But it still brings up important questions about the shipwreck and its lingering repercussions.
Here鈥檚 a look at what happened, why the wreck is still hurting birds, and what can be done about it.
The Incident
The year was 1953. The Jacob Luckenbach, a 469-foot freighter, departed from San Francisco on its way to Korea with military supplies鈥ut it didn鈥檛 get very far. The ship collided with the Hawaiian Pilot in the Gulf of the Farallones and 鈥攁nd with it, the half-million gallons of bunker fuel it carried. The crewmen were safely transferred off the sinking ship onto the intact Hawaiian Pilot, but the oil, which remained contained on board, was lost below.
Then, starting in the 1970s, oil began lapping up onto California鈥檚 central coast at intermittent times, leaving oiled seabirds struggling on the beaches from Bodega Bay to Monterey Bay. It wasn鈥檛 until 2002 that these were traced back to the Jacob Luckenbach. But by that point, significant harm had already been done: Between 1990-2003 , including Common Murres, Northern Fulmars, Red Phalaropes, Cassin鈥檚 Auklets, Western Grebes, and Brown Pelicans. Two species listed under the Endangered Species Act were also affected: Western Snowy Plovers and Marbled Murrelets.
鈥淗undreds of oiled birds were showing up on the coast and we analyzed their feather samples,鈥 says Steve Hampton from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. 鈥淚t turned out that 97 percent of the oiled birds matched each other; the oil matched.鈥
This meant that the oil was coming from the same source. To pinpoint that source, each bird鈥檚 route was traced backwards鈥攂ased on wind direction and ocean currents鈥攖o determine where it had been foraging. And incredibly, their paths all converged at one spot: The site of the sunken ship.
The Cleanup
So what was to be done about the lingering threat? The U.S. Coast Guard embarked on a 10-month, $20-million from the pollution-spewing vessel. A team of divers used vacuum hoses to suck the oil out of the ship to a barge stationed on the surface. But, in the end, it was only possible to extract about 100,000 gallons of oil; the rest鈥攃lose to 30,000 gallons鈥攚as sealed inside the Jacob Luckenbach.
鈥淚t was really dangerous work,鈥 says Hampton. 鈥淭he oil had spread to over 30 different compartments within the ship, and access to these pockets was limited. Working in those conditions there was no guaranty that they sealed everything up. That鈥檚 why there鈥檚 still oil leakage from time to time.鈥
For the most part though, the cleanup efforts seem to have worked鈥攊n the years since, the number of unexplained oiled birds washing up has declined precipitously. Currently, there are no plans to retrieve the oil left behind, since it seems costly and inefficient to carry on, says Hampton.
But, after a big swell event in December of last year, staff from the International Bird Recue from beaches in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties: One Red-necked Grebe, one Western Grebe, one Pacific Loon, and six Common Murres.
Suspicions that the infamous sunken ship might be involved yet again spurred an investigation. Feather samples from these birds were sent to a lab for analysis and the results were announced last month. Sure enough, the oil matched the Jacob Luckenbach.
鈥淭here have been winters when a few oiled birds matched the Luckenbach, but this winter鈥檚 nine birds might be the most,鈥 Hampton says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a dramatic improvement from the past and clearly we鈥檝e stopped nearly all of the oiling.鈥
Restoration
Luckily, there are longer-term solutions in the works as well. Because the company that owned the Jacob Luckenbach no longer exists, about $22 million in funds have been allocated under the Oil Pollution Act for . These projects, approved in 2010, are geared towards restoring the avian populations that have been affected the most.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not their fault they got covered with oil,鈥 says Michelle Bellizzi, manager of the International Bird Rescue鈥檚 wildlife center, 鈥渟o we feel that it is our responsibility to repair that damage.鈥
While the Jacob Luckenbach was the source of immense devastation, at least one good thing resulted from its destruction: It has inspired the investigation (by various agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) into other sunken vessels鈥攍ike the , which turned out to be empty鈥攖hat could be leaking oil now or in the future. Of the 20,000 or so sunken vessels in U.S. waters, .
鈥淭here are probably some other sunken ships out there that we should be worrying about,鈥 says Hampton. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 because of the Luckenbach that this has become an issue that鈥檚 on people鈥檚 minds.鈥