Aerial view of spill area (http://sfbay.wr.usgs.gov/access/digitalmaps.html)

Date of incident: September 26, 1998.

Location: San Francisco Bay and San Mateo Bay, California.

Trustees:

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
• U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI)
• State of California

Case status: Settled on December 13, 1999. In restoration.

Overview: On September 26, 1998, the M/T Command released an estimated 3,000 gallons of intermediate bunker fuel (IBF) 380. On September 30, oil began to wash ashore over 15 miles of beaches, primarily in San Mateo County, as it traveled off the San Francisco and San Mateo County coasts. The primary effects of the spill were injuries to large numbers of seabirds, mostly common murres. A number of California brown pelicans and marbled murrelets also were affected, along with various other seabird species. California brown pelicans and marbled murrelets are listed as threatened and endangered species under the Endangered Species Act and the California Endangered Species Act. Injuries also occurred to sandy beach and rocky intertidal shoreline habitats, and there was lost and diminished use of beaches for human recreation.