TRUCK FIRE – Firefighters knock down a fire in a Ford Explorer truck in Arrowhead Trailer Park in the 1200 block of Sawmill Creek Road Saturday evening. One person received fire-related injuries and was taken to the hospital, Sitka Fire Department Chief Craig Warren said, and the truck was considered a total loss. The cause of the fire is under investigation, Warren said. The fire hall received the call about the fire at 5:33 p.m., and one fire engine with eight firefighters and an ambulance were dispatched, he said. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

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Cleanup Under Way at Tug Sinking Site

 

Workers adjust an oil containment boom at the site of a sunken boat near the Samson Tug dock, Sunday. (Sentinel Photo)

By SHANNON HAUGLAND

Sentinel Staff Writer

The Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment and Department of Environmental Conservation continued their response over the weekend to the potential environmental damage from the sinking of a tugboat at the Samson dock Wednesday night.

Samson has hired contractors to clean up the spilled oil and to survey the 81-foot tug Powhatan where it now rests at a depth of about 180 feet. 

Samson estimated 325 gallons of lube oil, diesel fuel and possible sludge were in the bottom of the main tanks, the DEC said. 

Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Supervisor Jay Willimon said today that the current estimates of diesel spilled is 700 gallons, including fuel from a 2,500-gallon forward fuel tank, engines and fuel lines. The tug has a capacity of 20,000 gallons, but only the forward fuel tank has been in use recently and other fuel tanks have been drained, the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard said the boat had been out of service for about 10 years.

After sinking at the Samson dock, the vessel slid about 200 yards along an underwater ledge to its present position about 300 meters offshore, from an initial depth of 15 meters to its current depth of about 60 meters, the DEC said.

Divers from Ketchikan are scheduled to arrive this evening to go to work Tuesday on containing or minimizing the diesel discharge, and assessing the vessel for salvage, Willimon said.

“The condition of the vessel, how it’s lying, and what do we need to do to go forward with raising or recovering the boat,” he said.

The Southeast Alaska Petroleum Response Organization has placed boom around the vessel to contain the leak. The cause of the sinking is still under investigation, the Coast Guard said.

“Our top priority is to protect public health, safety and limit environmental impact as we work with the contracted companies to contain and clean-up the spill,” Petty Officer First Class Ken Farah, the federal on scene coordinator representative for the incident, said in the news release. “The Coast Guard and Alaska’s Department of Environmental Conservation are working together to guarantee an aggressive and effective response.”

The DEC response included “Resources at risk or affected:

“Herring larvae recently emerged from the last spawning event and may be in the surface water in the vicinity of the sinking and salmon fry are migrating from nearby streams and are known to use the shoreline in the area regularly. There is the potential for exposure to marine wildlife (i.e. sea otters and birds) but there have been no reports of impacts to, or observations of, any in the immediate area. ADF&G has provided recommended priorities for protection.”

The DEC and Coast Guard will continue to monitor for impacts on wildlife and fish, the DEC said in Friday situation report.

 

Willimon said several agencies have been responding to the boat sinking, including the U.S. Forest Service and Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

 

“A lot of agencies have had a role,” he said.

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20 YEARS AGO

March 2004

Businesses using the Centennial Hall parking lot testified Tuesday against a proposal to charge them rent in addition to the $200 annual permit fee. City Administrator Hugh Bevan made the proposal in response to the Assembly’s direction to Centennial Hall manager Don Kluting to try to close the $340,000 gap between building revenues and operational costs.


50 YEARS AGO

March 1974

Alaska Native Brotherhood Grand President William S. Paul Sr. will be special guest and speaker at the local ANB, Alaska Native Sisterhood Founders Day program Monday at the ANB Hall.

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