Pipeline Spill Off O.C. Probed by Coast Guard

The Coast Guard is investigating a Long Beach marine contractor for alleged misconduct and failing to reveal the severity of damage to an offshore oil pipeline off Huntington Beach that spilled a small amount of crude oil two months ago.

Unocal Corp., which owns the pipeline and hired the Long Beach firm, also faces possible fines if federal officials conclude that the oil company failed to properly manage the marine company.

The damage occurred June 11 as a crew from Hydro Marine tried to retrieve a missing buoy chain and sinker at Unocal’s Platform Edith, about 8 miles offshore. A grappling hook used by the company caught and dragged the pipeline, which serves the platform, causing it to bend and crack, according to the Coast Guard.

The damage went unreported for six days, until June 17, when a gallon or two of oil slicked the ocean after pressure had built up in the cracked pipeline. Unocal shut down the line as soon as the sheen was detected in the water. Cost of repair is estimated at more than $1 million.

The Coast Guard is investigating Craig Wolfe, owner of Hydro Marine and head of the work crew, for “possible reckless behavior” and “possible deliberate misrepresentation of the extensive damage to the pipeline,” according to a U.S. Minerals Management Service report.

Coast Guard and Minerals Management Service investigators said the Hydro Marine crew did not inform Unocal of the damage it caused.

Wolfe, 32, whose small, 11-year-old boat-service company has a fleet of six vessels and 30 employees, told The Times on Thursday that the Minerals Management Service report is “absolutely packed full of lies.”

“They imply that I knew I snagged the pipeline. . . . I did not know that. I was very clear in my testimony (to investigators) that I thought I might have hit debris, or abandoned pipe or something that might have fallen off a barge or supply boat,” he said. “I went back to Unocal and told them that I had hooked onto something and they said they would survey the area. They did not do so.”

Unocal spokeswoman Janet McClintock said the oil company told Wolfe where the pipeline was and warned him not to use a grappling hook because of a similar accident in May at a Unocal platform that caused a major spill off Ventura County.

“The operator disregarded all our instructions and then he did not give us any indication that he had harmed the pipeline in any way. Otherwise, we would have checked it immediately,” she said.

Cmdr. Peter Rennard, senior investigations officer at the Coast Guard’s marine safety office in Long Beach, said the hook grabbed hold of the pipeline and dragged it up about 120 feet.

The 6-inch-diameter line was “bent like a piece of spaghetti over a fork,” at about a 90-degree angle, Rennard said.

“That does not bode well as a reasonable standard of care for a licensed operator,” Rennard said. “We have some real concerns here. This operation was not prudent. Whether it was negligent, or whether there was misconduct involved, that is yet to be determined.”

Rennard said he expects Wolfe to be cited for several alleged safety violations, and he could face suspension or revocation of his license as captain of the operation. He added, however, that he would not know what action will be advised until the Coast Guard report is completed next month.

In a July 19 memo, Rishi Tyagi, district supervisor for the Minerals Management Service, recommended that both Unocal and Hydro Marine be fined up to $10,000 per violation. Both companies were criticized for “failure to work safely,” which “caused harm to property and marine and coastal environments.”

“After Capt. Wolfe realized the possibility that he might have snagged a pipeline, he misled Unocal into believing he had not picked up or damaged the pipeline,” the investigators’ report says. “He did not inform Unocal that he had actually hooked, picked up and possibly bent the pipeline or that he had used a grapnel.”

The report continues that “it is reasonable to assume that if Unocal had been informed . . . they would have immediately suspended pipeline shipping operations and the spill could have been avoided.”

The report by the Minerals Management Service, the arm of the Interior Department that regulates offshore oil platforms, also said Unocal failed to properly manage the contractor’s work and did not provide the crew with pipeline maps or drawings.

The spill could have been avoided if Unocal had “made a more concerted effort to ensure the (contractors) knew precisely where the pipeline was located,” the report by federal investigators says.

The investigators concluded that the contractors were “under pressure from Unocal” to complete the work in one day because the company needed the buoy the next day. Also, Wolfe had plane tickets that night for a business trip to the Philippines.

“Because of these time pressures, he seems to have exercised poor judgment in a desperate effort to complete the job on June 11,” the report says.

Platform Edith has been shut down since June 17 and will remain closed for at least several months until Unocal’s plans to repair the pipeline are approved by federal and state agencies.

Tyagi said he could not estimate how much oil spilled except that it was less than one barrel, or 42 gallons. Rennard said it was about a gallon or two, based on video footage he has seen. Unocal said it was about a gallon.

“It’s a minor accident in the sense that less than a barrel was spilled, but in the sense of damage and repair work, it is major,” Tyagi said.

Wolfe said Unocal officials told him they would seek compensation from him for more than $1 million in damage. Unocal officials said they have since canceled all contracts with Wolfe’s company.

“I’m fuming,” Wolfe said. “Because of one little incident that was not my fault, everything is destroyed. They want to take me for every penny I have and I may lose my license.”

Wolf said he heeded Unocal’s warning not to use a grappling hook to sweep the ocean floor in search of the buoy. He said he used the hook just to anchor his vessel. When it snagged, he dove down to check out the problem but never got a close enough look to see that it was a pipeline because he rushed to the surface to cut the hook’s cable.

“If there was a 90-degree bend in this, why would I hold out? . . . How could I hide that?” he said.

He said Unocal did not tell him a pipeline was there and if he had known, he wouldn’t have dropped the hook.

Eight oil platforms are located off Orange County, including four large ones in federal waters eight to 12 miles off Huntington Beach. Federal officials say the safety records are good and no major spills have occurred there since the platforms were built in in the late 1970s.

Cracked Pipeline

Hydro Marine, a contractor hired by Unocal, accidentally cracked an undersea oil pipeline in June, causing a small oil leak. The U.S. Coast Guard is now investigating Hydro Marine. 1. Hook Dropped

The Hydro Marine crew dropped a 150-pound grappling hook while hunting for parts of a buoy off Unocal’s Platform Edith on June 11. Unocal had warned the company not to dredge with a hook, but the crew said it was used only to steady their vessel 2. Pipeline Caught

The ship moved eastward, and when the hook was hauled up, it snagged the 6-inch-diameter pipeline, carrying it up about 120 feet, federal officials say. The captain says that after he investigated the problem in scuba gear, he knew that something--but not the pipeline--had been hooked. 3. Pipeline Damaged

The hook’s cable was cut. Once freed, the pipeline snapped back away from the ship, bending at right angles when it landed. Despite a crack in the line, no oil leaked immediately. 4. Oil Sheen Appears

Unocal says it learned of the damage six days after the accident, when a cleaning operation briefly increased pressure in the pipeline. A gallon or two of oil was forced through the crack and created an oil sheen. The line was shut off and remains closed for repairs.

Source: U.S. Minerals Management Service and U.S. Coast Guard

Text by DANNY SULLIVAN / Los Angeles Times