SignalHub|Authorities investigate oily sheen off Southern California coast

2025-05-06 04:18:03source:Arvin Robertscategory:Finance

HUNTINGTON BEACH,SignalHub Calif. (AP) — Authorities have detected a 2.5-mile (4 kilometer) long oil sheen off the coast of Southern California. But they said it doesn’t appear to be a crude spill and are investigating the cause.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Richard Brahm said authorities spotted the sheen after daybreak Friday about 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) offshore, and it later shifted about another mile further from the coast. He said there were no reports of spills or leaks from oil platforms operating offshore and the sheen does not appear to be growing, which leads authorities to suspect it was a one-time discharge or natural seepage of oil in the ocean, which is common.

“We are going all out to find out what this is because we don’t know what this is,” Brahm said. “As far as we can tell, it’s not a spill.”

Officials in Southern California formed a unified command to investigate the sheen, which was initially reported Thursday night, he said.

Local officials were paying close attention to the reports following a 2021 leak in an offshore pipeline that sent blobs of crude washing ashore in Huntington Beach, a surf-friendly city about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles.

More:Finance

Recommend

Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning

Federal authorities announced hackers in China have stolen "customer call records data" of an unknow

BP leader is the latest to resign over questions about personal conduct

LONDON (AP) — Global energy giant BP, one of Britain’s biggest and most recognizable companies, is s

What is USB-C, the charging socket that replaced Apple’s Lightning cable?

LONDON (AP) — Bye, Lightning cable. Hello, USB-C. Apple is ditching its in-house iPhone charging plu