SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CA — The cost to salvage and remove the capsized boat "Spirit of Sacramento" from the waters in which it sank last month is tagged at roughly $1.6 million, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The boat capsized in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta near Webb Tract, just across from Bethel Island, in the early hours of Sept. 4. Two people escaped the 85-foot boat unharmed but Coast Guard officials still do not know what caused the wreck.

The owner, Samuel Rowles, was given a federal order to produce a fuel removal plan, but failed to do so, which meant that a litany of federal and state agencies had to take over the entire cleanup and removal effort,

according to the Coast Guard. Responders from Coast Guard Sector San Francisco monitor response efforts at the scene of the capsized vessel Spirit of Sacramento Sept. 5, 2016, near Bethel Island, Calif. The 87-foot vessel was reported to be taking on water Sept. 4, 2016. The Coast Guard, Contra Costa County Sheriff's Dept., and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) responded. U.S. Coast Guard photo. While the cost of the cleanup thus far has been borne by the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, ultimately Rowles could be responsible for the entire amount, the Coast Guard said.



To remove the boat from its resting place, salvage crews lifted it from the water using a crane mounted on a floating barge. The vessel, which weighs 99 gross tons, was then drained of water, re-floated and towed to a

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers facility in Sausalito, where 130 gallons of waterlogged fuel were removed Wednesday, according to the Coast Guard. The tug Amy Elise pushes the Spirit of Sacramento through the water Sept. 30, 2016, near Sausalito, Calif. Coast Guard and Global Diving and Salvage, Inc. personnel started salvage operations of the 87-foot vessel on Sept. 28. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Josh Lane. The cleanup is not complete, however, as the federal Environmental Protection Agency still plans to remove all of the remaining hazardous material from the boat.



The boat used to be a commercial passenger vessel, but its most recent use was as a private recreational boat. More than one boat shares the name "Spirit of Sacramento," Coast Guard officials said.

— By Bay City News Service