SAN DIEGO — A gasket in a jet fuel filter ruptured on Thursday evening, leaking about 10,000 gallons of fuel aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, the Navy Times reported Friday.
The leak was discovered about 6:30 p.m. while the Everett-based Lincoln was conducting operations off the Southern California coast, U.S. Third Fleet officials said Friday.
The carrier was operating close to shore and had to move to 50 nautical miles from the shore, as required under the Maritime Pollution Act, in order to discharge the fuel overboard “to prevent it from being a further hazard to the ship or the crew, eliminating the potential for fire or explosion,” officials said.
The Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were monitoring the fuel discharge “and expect the sheen to dissipate with no impact to coastal regions,” the Navy said.
The Navy is investigating what caused the gasket to rupture, officials said.
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