The United States Coast Guard has announced that Coast Guard Cutter Alder accidentally discharged 500 gallons of oil off the coast of Fort Bragg, California. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Andrew Sugimoto, commander, District Eleven, made this announcement:
“The Coast Guard Cutter Alder, a 225-foot buoy tender, homeported in San Francisco, accidentally discharged approximately 500 gallons of diesel fuel 30 miles offshore of Fort Bragg, Friday morning. Alder was enroute to Humboldt Bay when the incident occurred. Members of Coast Guard Sector San Francisco Incident Management Division have notified interagency stakeholders and are investigating the oil spill and cause. They are also evaluating potential impacts to sensitive sites. There are currently no anticipated shoreline impacts at this time.”
USCGC Alder (WLB-216) is the final Juniper-class, 225-foot (69 m) seagoing buoy tender of the United States Coast Guard. Alder is designed as a multi-mission vessel, with defined mission sets in Aids to Navigation, Icebreaking, Search and Rescue, Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, and Marine Environmental Protection. She served in Duluth, Minnesota from her commissioning in 2005 to 2022 when she was temporarily posted in Baltimore for refit. She now serves in District 11 out of San Francisco.
