The U.S. Coast Guard is stepping up security efforts to protect a glut of oil tankers parked off the coast of Long Beach and Los Angeles in the wake of falling oil prices.

There were 27 vessels sitting off the coast as of late Thursday, Coast Guard officials said.

The tankers, which can carry as much as two million barrels of oil per vessel, are needed to store a glut of oil not being used as residents are asked to stay home and businesses have shuttered in the wake of the coronavirus health crisis.

The New York Times reported Thursday that the tankers are in high demand: Rates to store oil were around $25,000 in February, and have ballooned to roughly $200,000 a day.

“We are one of the few industries making money in this period,” Hugo de Stoop, chief executive of Belgian-based Euronav, one of the world’s largest tanker companies, told the Times.

The cost of a barrel of oil sank this week to a low of -37.63.

Coast Guard officials said in a statement that the situation off the coast is unique, and that it is evaluating and adapting procedures “to ensure the safety of the vessels at anchor and the protection of the surrounding environment.”

The Vessel Traffic Service provides anchorage assignments based on each vessel’s draft, length, type, as well as how long it plans to stay.