Body surfaces close to Pier 50

A decomposed body surfaced offshore of Pier 50 in San Francisco on Saturday morning, officials said.

Port officials were towing Drydock No. 1, which was 300 yards off of Pier 50, to a boat headed for China when a body floated up from under it around 7:30 a.m., said Daley Dunham, manager of special projects for the Port of San Francisco.

Port officials were not, however, able to immediately recover the body, Dunham said. San Francisco police and fire officials were in boats searching for the body off of Pier 50.

Officials speculated that the body might be that of a kayaker who capsized in a tugboat’s wake and went missing off Pier 80 in 2011. His body was never recovered.

In preparation for the removal of the dry dock and based on the possibility that the missing kayaker might have been stuck underneath, dive teams had searched the area more than once, Dunham said.

“We had already taken a hard look at it,” he said. “We thought (finding a body) was very remote.”

As port officials pulled Drydock No. 1 out to the waiting ship, the M.V. Tern, a tugboat operator, saw the body float loose from under the steel structure, Dunham said. The tug shut down engines and attempted to secure the body for authorities to recover, but they were unable to maintain control and it floated away.

“That was first and foremost in our minds, to be good custodians (of the remains) while we could,” Dunham said.

At least two police boats continued the search of the area midmorning.

The drydock is being sent to China as part of a planned disposal of the facility.