The Aurora, a former cruise ship with a fascinating history, recently made headlines. The decommissioned cruise ship which sank on May 22 in Little Potato Slough within the San Joaquin Delta northwest of Stockton has now been refloated, official say.
The Aurora, a 294-foot cruise ship, sunk with an unknown amount of fuel on board and response teams removed 21,675 gallons of oily water during the response to mitigate pollution to the environment.
Officials announced the completion of their pollution response to the sunken vessel, which was not in operation, but had recently changed ownership.
Over the last several weeks, response contractors, Global Diving and Salvage and subcontractors, removed an estimated 21,675 gallons of oily water, 3,193 gallons of hazardous waste, and five 25-yard bins of debris was removed from the vessel, the US coast guard says.
Extensive surveys suggest that no recoverable oil remains onboard. There were no observations of oiled wildlife throughout the response.
The City of Stockton has hired contractors to maintain pumps within the vessel to address potential water ingress and monitor the vessel.
Relevant agencies are assessing options for potential removal of the vessel. As it is reported by the authorities, “out of an abundance of caution, the containment boom will remain in place.”
