U.S. Coast Guard investigators inspected a cargo ship docked in Oakland on Wednesday to determine the cause of the devastating oil spill in Southern California.
After reviewing weeks of data from MarineTraffic, a navigation service that tracks the locations of ships and large boats, U.S. officials have focused on a German ship, the Rotterdam Express, as the culprit of the spill.
While anchored off the coast of Huntington Beach last week, the Rotterdam Express made a series of unusual movements, officials said. The Coast Guard boarded the ship while it was docked in the Port of Oakland on Oct. 6 to investigate whether the anchor might have snagged the ruptured oil pipeline, causing it to bend.
Hapag-Lloyd, the shipping company that operates the Rotterdam Express, confirmed that investigators boarded the ship, however, the company said it played no role in the oil spill.
"We are fully cooperating with the authorities at this moment," said Nils Haupt, a Hapag-Lloyd spokesperson.
Investigators are looking to collect tracking information from the vessel and to conduct preliminary interviews with crew members.
The Rotterdam Express is the only lead pursued in the investigation at this time.
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