The Observer, September, 2008

Alyeska SERVS sends tug to help grounded vessel

On August 7, 2008, the Northern Mariner went hard aground on the northeast side of Flemming Island in southwest Prince William Sound. Alaska Chadux and R&R Diving responded. Additionally, the United States Coast Guard asked Alyeska Ship Escort Response Vessel Systems for assistance to protect the Armin F. Koernig Hatchery in Saw Mill Bay.

While Alyeska’s escort and vessel response is typically limited to Trans Alaska Pipeline System tankers, we maintain a contract with the Coast Guard for use in cases involving other vessels, and Alyeska advised that it could lend a hand.

Under this Coast Guard contract Alyeska response personnel and equipment were immediately dispatched aboard the tug Endurance to respond to the incident.

The Endurance arrived on the scene early the next morning, and a response crew made up of TCC, Crowley, Chenega Bay IRA Council, and Alyeska responders set up 7,200 feet of protection boom. The boom was pre-positioned at the response center located in the Village of Chenega Bay as part of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System tanker oil spill response plans.

In the meantime, the Coast Guard contracted with Alaska Chadux, an oil spill response contractor, to boom the Northern Mariner. Alaska Chadux in turn worked with R&R Diving to lighten the vessel. They were able to remove an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 gallons of fuel from the crippled vessel. In addition, three fishing vessels based out of Whittier and two Cordova vessels working for Alaska Chadux were deployed to Chenega Bay to assist in the protection efforts.

Initial recovery efforts focused on lightening the Northern Mariner and on the subsequent patching of the vessel to float it off of Flemming Island and move it to a more secure area. The patchwork was finished on Aug. 11, and the vessel was towed to Thumb Bay in anticipation of worsening weather conditions.

By Thursday, Aug.14, R&R Diving had removed enough fuel to diminish the pollution potential to the Sound. With the pollution potential removed, Alyeska response crews began to demobilize the boom protecting Chenega Bay and the Armin F. Koernig Hatchery. The crews finished Friday evening and returned to Valdez early Saturday morning.

As of August 18, the Northern Mariner was still in the safe harbor of Thumb Bay and was awaiting the arrival of the tug Junior to be towed to Seward for final repairs.

The Northern Mariner incident , while certainly unfortunate for the parties involved, provided an opportunity for SERVS and the Coast Guard to work together and coordinate their efforts with the local resources of PWS.

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