Two cargo ships that allegedly dragged an oil pipeline with their anchors during a winter storm should be held liable forthat sent thousands of gallons of crude into the waters off Orange County, the operator of the ruptured pipeline said in a lawsuit filed Monday.
Amplify’s lawsuit said that, if company employees had been aware of the damage, they would have deployed a remotely operated vehicle to inspect the pipeline, “detected its dislocation and the damage done to it, suspended operations immediately, and undertaken remedial measures that would have prevented the discharge of oil.”
After warnings of an approaching storm on Jan. 25, 2021, more than 20 container ships left their anchorages in San Pedro Bay and headed to deeper waters to ride out the storm, the lawsuit said. But the Danit and the Beijing remained near the pipeline, the complaint said. As the Danit prepared to raise its anchor and head to deeper waters, the Beijing came within about 560 feet of colliding with the other ship, the lawsuit said, citing November court filings by the Dordellas Finance Corp., the Panamanian company that owns the Danit.
The lawsuit accused both shipping companies of negligence. When a vessel strikes a stationary object, courts presume the vessel is at fault, the lawsuit said.