The commercial fishing vessel that became grounded close to Bodega Bay is being worked on more actively as various agencies work to avoid a major environmental disaster.

The Aleutian Storm ran aground within the Greater National Marine Sanctuary, triggering a Coast Guard rescue operation late Friday night.

“The Coast Guard was called into action to rescue a commercial fishing vessel after it ran aground near Bodega Bay,” reported .

The stranded vessel, about two miles from Bodega Bay itself, was reported to have on board approximately 1,500 gallons of diesel, according to the Coast Guard’s at Sector San Francisco.

Their top priorities at the moment were making sure the crew members were safely rescued and working nonstop to stop any spills into the delicate marine ecosystem.

The four crew members’ attempts to free the boat failed, but in a dramatic turn of events, they were able to swim to safety.

The situation was then taken over by the Unified Command, which included the Coast Guard and the Office of Spill Prevention and Response of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, among other agencies.

According to a U.S. Coast Guard statement, on Monday, February 12, an unknown amount of diesel leaked during the unsuccessful attempts at .

Since then, contractors have started to remove diesel, and they were able to clear one tank before the tide stopped them in their tracks.

Despite the fact that the exact amount of diesel that was released and the reason for the grounding are still being investigated, as stated in a press release from the U.S. Coast Guard, these teams are committed to promptly evaluating and addressing the pollution threat.

Now that the environment is more vulnerable, the Unified Command and its allied organizations are concentrating on providing a watchful response close to Bodega Bay. Once merely a statistic on a ship’s manifest, the Aleutian Storm’s diesel potential now acts as a ticking clock for a vulnerable ecosystem. The safety of the coastal waters, which are home to a wide variety of marine life, is the top priority, and all efforts are directed toward minimizing the environmental impact as operations move forward.