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State officials have said that a bunker spill which sent hundreds of gallons of fuel into San Francisco Bay last month was caused by a fuel tank overflow and that a faulty valve may have been the principal reason for the incident.

The spill took place when the Dubai Star was receiving marine oil from a barge operated by Foss Maritime approximately two miles south of the Bay Bridge on October 30th.

An investigation by the California Office of Oil Spill Prevention found that an overfilled fuel tank had led to the Dubai Star spilling fuel into San Francisco Bay.

It is understood that the spill occurred when two tanks were being successively filled using the same fuel line, but fuel continued to be pumped into the first tank after it became full, causing it to overflow and spill.

The problem is said to have arisen because crew members thought the port, or left side bunker tank was filled. They then reportedly went to watch the right side tank even though fuel oil was continuing to be pumped into the port side tank.

Steve Sawyer, Deputy Council for the Office of Oil Spill and Prevention said: "After they filled up the first fuel tank, something happened, either a malfunctioning valve or the valve failing to close. But oil kept going into the port side bunker tank, and everybody now is on the starboard side of the vessel monitoring the starboard bunker tank while the oil is going out on the port side."

As a result, the onboard oil containment equipment, known as the boom, was not deployed after the spill because the barge and all ship workers were on the other side of the vessel, Sawyer said.

The findings appear to reverse an earlier suggestion that the spill, which fouled six miles of Alameda coastline and killed at least 37 birds, was caused by a faulty hose.