A Hanjin Shipping boxship travelling through dense fog has hit a tower supporting San Francisco"s Bay Bridge, spilling thousands of gallons of oil.
The 5,447?teu Cosco Busan (built 2001), which was heading from Oakland to South Korea, struck a tower west of Yerba Buena Island on Wednesday morning. The ship later anchored north of Treasure Island, outside the channel.
The incident caused no structural damage to the span, officials said, but the ship's hull suffered a large gash that poured about 58,000 gallons of fuel into the bay.
The leak prompted the closures of five San Francisco beaches - Fort Point, Kirby Cove, Baker Beach, China Beach and Crissy Field - while authorities worked to clean up the oil, the US Coast Guard said.
Several people who were at the Port of San Francisco reported getting headaches and feeling sick from inhaling oil fumes, but the city's public health department said no one was at risk from long-term health effects.
Coast Guard pollution and marine inspectors conducted investigations into the cause of the accident, while an Army Corps of Engineers crew collected large wooden chunks from the bridge fender system that broke off into the water.
Traffic on the bridge was not affected by the incident, and the California Department of Transportation declared it was intact and still safe to cross.
The vessel is listed as owned by NSB Niederelbe of Germany.
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