Pipeline anchor strike may have occurred months before spill

A Southern California underwater oil pipeline was likely struck by an anchor several months to a year before a leak spilled tens of thousands of gallons of crude, the U.S. Coast Guard announced Friday.

A large vessel of some kind may have struck the massive pipeline, shattering the concrete casing but not necessarily causing the slender crack from which oil spewed last weekend, said Capt. Jason Neubauer, chief of the Coast Guard's office of investigation and analysis.

The longer timeline was partly based on marine growth that was spotted on the pipe in an underwater survey.

The pipe, which was found to be intact last October, may also have been struck several other times by other ships' anchors over the course of the period, he added.

No ships have been identified, however.