SAN FRANCICSO BAY (BCN) -- Crews are continuing to clean up areas of the San Francisco  Bay affected by last week's oil spill, which has so far resulted in the  deaths of 24 shorebirds, according to official estimates, with 37 more birds  rehabilitating at an Oiled Wildlife Care Network treatment center in  Fairfield.

A mechanical failure that occurred during a bunkering operation  with a fuel barge early Friday morning caused the Panamanian tanker Dubai  Star to leak between 400 and 800 gallons of oil into the Bay two miles south  of the Bay Bridge.

The Dubai Star was taken to Pier 80 in San Francisco while  authorities investigated the spill, but the vessel has been approved to leave  and will depart for Martinez some time Friday, according to the U.S. Coast  Guard.

Cleanup crews continue to work on controlling the damage caused by  the spill, although personnel and volunteers are being demobilized as their  work is completed.

Crews are also scaling back booming operations, according to Coast  Guard officials.

As of Wednesday night, 8,900 feet of boom remained on the Bay,  down from a total of nearly 36,000 feet containing the spill on Monday.

The California Department of Fish and Game and the Office of  Environmental Health Hazard Assessment have reopened access to fishing  activities along the Alameda County shoreline at San Leandro Bay, the Oakland  Inner Harbor, the shoreline south of the southern boundary of Oakland  International Airport to the Hayward-San Mateo Bridge, and the shoreline from  Oakland Middle Harbor north to the Bay Bridge.

The closures were lifted after state officials determined the  recreation areas to be safe from oil contamination, which continues to pose  risks in other areas where fishing from the shore and shellfish gathering are  still temporarily prohibited.

The part of the shoreline that remains closed spans from Alameda  Point to the southern boundary of the Oakland International Airport.

Fishing from boats on the Bay continues to be permitted, according  to officials, though anglers are warned against casting lines in areas where  an oil sheen is visible on surface waters.

Anyone who spots an oiled animal should call (877) 823-6926.

The owners of the Dubai Star are responsible for the cost of the  cleanup, but Fish and Game spokeswoman Alexia Retallack said that the total  cost of the spill will not be known for "quite a while."

Retallack said authorities have to take into account all the costs  connected to the cleanup, from the personnel and equipment used, to the  rehabilitation of oiled animals and the economic impact the spill had on the  region.

"It's a very complex formula," she said.
 
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