BART service between San Francisco and the East Bay stopped for about 20 minutes today out of precaution that a ship’s anchor may be getting too close to the Transbay Tube, agency officials said.

A ship lost propulsion in the Bay and dropped anchor at about 8:35 a.m. to avoid drifting, BART spokesman Jim Allison said.

At 11:58 a.m., a U.S. Coast Guard duty officer notified BART’s operations control center out of concern that the anchor was close to the Transbay Tube, so BART service was stopped as a precaution, Allison said.

Crews inspected the tube and determined it was not damaged. Train service then resumed at 12:17 p.m., BART spokeswoman Luna Salaver said.

Residual delays of up to 30 minutes were expected while trains got back on schedule, Salaver said.

She said crews will go back and inspect the Transbay Tube after BART service ends tonight as a further precaution.

Dan McMenamin, Bay City News

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