LAKEPORT — A barge with a large crane owned by Konocti Marine Construction has sunk near Windflower Point on Clear Lake. According to Water Resource Director Scott De Leon, the barge sunk on November 23. De Leon said the barge itself is partially underwater but the crane with a 30-foot boom slipped off the barge and is completely submerged. The water depth in that location is approximately 45 feet.
De Leon said that he received an anonymous telephone call on November 24 and was told the barge had actually sunk on the previous day. De Leon immediately notified Environmental Health, the Sheriff”s Department and the Department of Fish and Game. Containment booms were put around the barge to catch any leaking fuel and according to De Leon there was only a minor spill. He said the owners of the barge and crane told him that they normally carry very little fuel in the tanks of the barge because in the past there has been fuel stolen from the tanks. Normally the barges are not self propelled and are towed by a tender. The fuel the barge carries is to run the engine on the crane. The barge and crane were being used to repair a dock at Windflower Point and apparently the barge started taking on water. The barge started to sink and the crane slipped off its tracks and fell into the lake. The barge itself is partially submerged with its bow resting on the shore.
According to De Leon, a team of experts, which includes divers were scheduled to arrive this week to try and raise the crane.
“We definitely want the crane and barge out of the lake and it?s the owners responsibility to accomplish that,” De Leon said. He also said the sunken barge and crane doesn”t pose any threat to boater navigation and there should be no threat to the fish and other wildlife.
