Late last year, the Port of Los Angeles made history as the CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, the largest container ship in the history of the United States Navy, docked at the location. The container ship, which is longer than the Empire State Building, has a length of 1,300 feet and can hold the equivalent of 235 Olympic swimming pools of water.
The Port of Los Angeles is making news once again due to a container ship that is docked there, but not for good reasons.
According to authorities, a large cargo chip named the Istra Ace has leaked an unknown amount of what is suspected to be fuel into the waters of the Port of Los Angeles. Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart confirmed that an oily sheen was visible on the water surrounding the vessel.
The leak, which was reported at 7:30 p.m. on March 13, originated from the cargo ship that was docked at Berth 202. A hazmat team went onboard the vessel, accompanied by the United States Coast Guard, to try to identify the substance that was leaked.
The leak has since been plugged, with a private cleanup company placing booms in the water surrounding the cargo ship to prevent the substance from further spreading into the ocean.
It has not yet been determined how much of the substance was able to enter the water before the leak was stopped.
The Istra Ace, which is registered in the Bahamas, is used to transport vehicles. It arrived in the Port of Los Angeles on Saturday, March 12.
In addition to the Coast Guard, the Los Angeles Port Police and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are involved in the investigation of the substance leak.
While the cleanup continues, such situations would be a perfect one for the boron nitride nanosheet that researchers from Australia's Deakin University created. The material functions as a special sponge that is able to soak up oil, similar to how sponges normally soak up water.
