By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Federal and state agencies and private contractors continued their cleanup and recovery operations today at the site of a tugboat grounding and oil spill in Neva Strait.
Western Towboat Co.’s 83-foot tug Western Mariner, which ran aground in the predawn hours of Monday, remained firmly lodged today on the beach 17 miles northwest of Sitka.
Workers clean oil off the shoreline near the grounded tug Western Mariner Wednesday afternoon. (Sentinel Photo)
The Coast Guard issued a news release today describing the unified response team that includes the Coast Guard, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and the tugboat owner.
The Coast Guard said the commercial companies Hanson Maritime of Sitka, SEAPRO, and Global Diving & Salvage are continuing spill recovery efforts and salvage planning.
The tug was towing the Alaska Marine Lines container barge Chichagof Provider when a temporary failure of the steering mechanism caused the barge to collide with the tugboat, which then ran aground. Another tugboat towed the barge to Sitka.
The DEC said a “broken silver and rainbow sheen was observed to cover approximately four nautical miles on the day of the grounding,” and today the Department of Fish and Game noted “broken sheening” in a flight over the area from north of St. John Baptist Bay to near Whitestone Narrows, about four-fifths a mile north of the southern entrance to Neva Strait.
So far, 3,000 gallons of diesel has been pumped from a ruptured tank aboard the tug onto an assisting fishing tender, and the effort was continuing today, Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st class Ali Blackburn said.
About 850 gallons of a mixture of oil and water has been recovered within the containment boom area, the Coast Guard said. Authorities said the leaked fuel was from a 15,000-gallon tank that ruptured in the accident. Western Towboat estimated the total amount of fuel aboard the tugboat at the time of the accident was 45,000 gallons. The Coast Guard said all fuel must be pumped from the boat prior to salvage operations.
Coast Guard personnel are overseeing the response operation and the cause of the accident is under investigation. The DEC and Coast Guard have assessed potential environmental impacts using oil trajectory models, and the Coast Guard is consulting with federally recognized tribes in the area.
The Coast Guard said that around 3 p.m. Tuesday, the 25-foot salvage vessel Silver Bullet capsized due to high winds and rough sea conditions as it was delivering boom equipment to the accident site. The crew of another response vessel responded quickly and all four persons on the overturned vessel were rescued with no injuries reported. The capsized boat was towed to shore, the Coast Guard said.
DEC described the response action, which has included placing two layers of containment boom around the vessel, and the use of an oil recovery skimmer to recover the 850 gallons of the diesel and water mixture.
“Absorbent materials were placed between the layers of boom to passively recover diesel from the water surface,” DEC said. The oil spill response vessel Neka Bay has 500 feet of containment boom, an onboard skimmer and storage capacity for up to 55 barrels of recovered fuel, DEC said. In oil measurement, a barrel is 42 gallons.
SEAPRO “will be observing local areas for shoreline or wildlife impacts and is ready to deploy protective measures if needed,” DEC said.
DEC has a section on its situation update web page about Resources at Risk or Affected, that reports on the herring currently aggregating and staging for spawning in Sitka Sound. DEC spokesperson Rachael Krajewski said no herring spawning or schooling was observed near the sheen area today.
She said no “extensively oiled shorelines” have been reported. “No impacts to marine mammals or wildlife have been reported, but no dedicated wildlife surveys have been conducted at this time,” she said.
DEC said the area around the spill has known salmon habitat and St. John Baptist Bay is a nursery area for juvenile sablefish. Neva Strait is a known sea cucumber habitat and commercial harvesting ground, and nearby beaches have been used historically as clam harvesting areas.
