I came across this sunken ship in the Alameda estuary, right next to Nob Hill Foods. Naturally I had to take some pictures.
I got curious about it: I’d never heard of or seen a sunken sailing vessel in the estuary. Here is what Google Gemini reported:
That sunken sailing ship you’re referring to in the Alameda Estuary is the $S/V$ Kaisei (pronounced Kai-say).
Here’s the story behind it:
- The Ship and Its Mission:
- The Kaisei is a large, steel-hulled brigantine (a two-masted sailing ship). It was built in Poland in 1987.
- Its name, Kaisei (海星), means “Sea Star” in Japanese.
- The ship was the flagship for the Ocean Voyages Institute, a Bay Area non-profit dedicated to addressing marine debris, particularly plastic waste in the ocean.
- The Kaisei was used for multiple scientific expeditions to the North Pacific Gyre (commonly known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch) and for educational purposes.
- The Sinking:
- The Kaisei sank while moored at a dock in Alameda near the 2500 block of Blanding Avenue (close to the Nob Hill Foods) in May 2025.
- The ship was unattended when it began taking on water.
- Responders from the Alameda Fire Department and others cut the vessel’s mooring lines to prevent it from dragging the dock down as it sank. It settled on the estuary floor, with its masts visible and listing toward the shore.
- Fire crews deployed containment booms to manage a small oil sheen and prevent the release of the approximately 200-400 gallons of diesel fuel that was onboard.
- Cause and Aftermath:
- The exact cause of the sinking is still under investigation. The owners suggested it may have been struck by something large, while others familiar with the vessel suggested it might have been due to a failure like a deteriorating through-hull fitting or a lack of maintenance, as the ship had reportedly been sitting at the dock for several years without moving.
- The irony is that a vessel dedicated to ocean cleanup became an environmental hazard itself.
- The ship is now the subject of a salvage operation, with the priority being the removal of the remaining fuel before attempting to raise the vessel.
It’s a recent and unfortunate chapter for a vessel that once sailed the world to raise awareness about the Pacific’s plastic problem.
