Fuel leak plugged in sunken barge near Bay Bridge

Crews plugged the leaking fuel vent of a barge that overturned south of the Bay Bridge but plan to further inspect the vessel before removing it from the water, officials said Saturday. Vengeance, a 112-foot freight barge owned by Vortex Marine Construction, overturned about 12:20 a.m. Friday amid strong winds, said Sarah Wilson, a Coast Guard spokeswoman. The construction company hired a crew from Global Diving and Salvage who were to perform an underwater assessment of the barge Saturday as responders devise a method to salvage the barge and begin cleanup operations. Divers entered the 50-foot deep channel off of Yerba Buena Island on Friday afternoon and closed the barge’s fuel vent — which carried 4,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 300 gallons of hydraulic fluid, Wilson said. California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response and the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management joined the Coast Guard, BART and Vortex Marine Construction to respond to the spill.