UPDATE: Overturned Boat Uprighted; Fuel Being Drained to Eliminate Potential Pollution: "A Race to Sunset"

The crabbing boat that overturned at Francis Beach at Half Moon Bay State Beach earlier this morning at 1 a.m. has now been uprighted, and the diesel fuel is currently being drained from the boat.

There has been no oil spilled thus far, according to James Nunez, Ensign with the U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Francisco. "Now," said Nunez, "we're racing to sunset to eliminate the pollution threat."

Before the fuel could begin to be drained from the boat, the vessel first needed to be uprighted. Earlier this afternoon, sand was excavated from the front of the boat. Next, the Phyllis J vessel, which was carrying three crew members at the time of its incident, was successfully uprighted by a D8 Catepillar tractor that pulled up the boat by a polypropylene tow hawser attached to the bow of the vessel.

The tractor pulled the boat into the trench provided by the sand that was excavated earlier, and piles of sand were moved to the base of the boat to support the boat in an upright position.

NRC Environmental Services is now pumping the approximate 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel from the Phyllis J boat. Nunez said that some water had come into the boat as well as a result of its sideways position. "So there's some additional oily water mixed in there as well," he said.

The additional environmental pollutants, such as hydraulic fluid, are of concern as well, said Nunez. "But right now we're working on getting all the fuel off," he said.

Parker Diving Services, a Sausalito-based company specializing in vessel recovery, will be taking the lead on removing the vessel from Francis Beach and back to Pillar Point Harbor. Parker Diving Services will also be drying out and de-watering the boat, according to Nunez, to get it light enough to move it up shore.

"The goal is to get it up shore enough on the beach to keep it out of the tide," Nunez said.

Nunez said that the vessel was in reportedly good shape and fairly intact. "It's made out of three-eighth inch steel, which is really thick," he said. Its reportedly good condition gives it a fair chance that it will be able to be pulled back to Pillar Point Harbor by Parker Diving Services' tug vessel, he said.

According to Nunez, if the rest of the fuel drainage process by NRC Environmental Services goes smoothly, the vessel should be able to be pulled back during the next high tide cycle and then tugged back to the harbor by Parker Diving Services.

Since the next high tide cycle is scheduled to take place close to midnight, Nunez said that if all continues to go well, the boat will probably get towed during the first high tide cycle tomorrow, which is around 11 a.m.

Corrections, Jan. 5, 11:43 pm: The word "hawser" was spelled incorrectly and has been fixed. The word "bowel" has been replaced with "bow."