The tanker Overseas Reymar travels in the San Francisco bay from Yerba Buena Island, Calif., Monday, Jan. 7, 2013. The empty oil tanker ship struck the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge on Monday, but there were no reports of leaking oil and the bridge remained open to traffic, officials said. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Federal transportation officials investigating after tanker hits Bay Bridge

By GARANCE BURKE and PAUL ELIAS

| The Associated Press

First Published Jan 08 2013 10:14 am • Last Updated Jan 08 2013 10:16 am

SAN FRANCISCO • Federal transportation authorities say they are investigating the crash of an empty tanker that struck a tower in the middle of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

The National Transportation Safety Board announced on Tuesday that it will coordinate its investigation with the Coast Guard.

The agency said the Coast Guard has classified the incident as a "major marine casualty" because it caused more than $500,000 in property damage.

The 752-foot Overseas Reymar rammed the tower on Monday morning as it was navigating beneath the hulking span. There were no reports of oil leaks.

The NTSB also investigated a 2007 container ship crash into the Bay Bridge that caused thousands of gallons of oil to spill into the bay.

Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

About Reader Comments

---

Reader comments on sltrib.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Salt Lake Tribune. We will delete comments containing obscenities, personal attacks and inappropriate or offensive remarks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. If you see an objectionable comment, please alert us by clicking the arrow on the upper right side of the comment and selecting "Flag comment as inappropriate". If you've recently registered with Disqus or aren't seeing your comments immediately, you may need to verify your email address. To do so, visit disqus.com/account.
See more about comments here.