The oil barge that collided with the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge in heavy fog Thursday night (previous post) was not carrying 65,000 gallons of oil, as first reported, but three million gallons, according to this morning’s Chronicle. The double-hulled construction of the barge prevented a catastrophe that would have dwarfed the Cosco Busan incident in November.

One factor in the crash may have been recent heavy rains in Northern California, causing heavier than expected bay currents. The Richmond Bridge spans the part of the bay where water from the Sacramento River delta, the main outlet for the region, flows through the bay toward the ocean.

The barge that struck the bridge Thursday is named the Cascades. According to this SEC filing by the barge’s owners, K-Sea Transportation Co., the Cascades is a 4,721 ton vessel built in 1993, with a capacity of 67,000 barrels (not gallons — you see the confusion). K-Sea acquired the barge from another company, Sea Coast Towing, Inc., in 2005. This list of K-Sea’s vessels lists the Cascades at 309 feet long.

K-Sea is based in New Jersey, with operations on both the east and west coasts of the U.S. Their website says they own 50 barges, some of them single hulled and some double.

Related posts:

1. Barge crashes into Richmond Bridge
2. Ship hits Bay Bridge
3. Breaking: Golden Gate Bridge shut by crash
4. Sparkletack turns 50!
5. Today: Festival of Sail Parade