The American Challenger, which grounded on March 6th near Bodega Bay in the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary will be removed over the next few months.
Planning work was scheduled to begin this week, followed by removal operations later this summer. Funding for the removal and disposal is coming from the US federal government’s Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and Region 9 of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Officials from the Unified Command from the Marin County Sheriff’s Department, US Coast Guard, US Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response jointly made the removal announcement on July 3rd.
The vessel’s steel hull was mostly intact, but petroleum products and waste onboard were said to be a threat to the environment.