POLAR WIND

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Tug and barge recovered

The "Polar Wind" and the barge "Unnimak Trader" it had lost before running aground on Nov 13 on the uninhabited Ukolnoi Island, about 40 miles from Alaska's Cold Bay off the Aleutians, have both been recovered on Nov 29 and will undergo inspections and repairs. Responders removed more than 13,000 gallons of diesel fuel and lube oils and refloated the tug at 3:30 p.m. It was towed to Sand Point where it was safely docked on Nov 30 morning. The "Unimak Trader" was refloated on Nov 30 at 1:30 p.m. The crew was waiting for a break in the weather to tow it to Sand Point. Both vessels were to go undergo dive assessments and temporary repairs before being towed to another location. Prior to the barge being towed, 97 refrigerated shipping containers, including 33 which contained more than 1,475,000 pounds of frozen seafood products, were transferred from the "Unimak Trader" to another barge and were safely delivered to Dutch Harbor. The seafood has been maintained at 15 degrees below zero since the grounding. The fuel quantity aboard the Polar Wind at the time of the grounding was estimated to be more 20,500 gallons of diesel and the barge was reportedly carrying 1,800 gallons of diesel. Response crews discovered that an estimated 6,000 gallons of diesel had leaked out of two port side fuel tanks on the tug that were damaged during the initial grounding, but reported that the diesel had been dissipated by the adverse weather in the area and had not impacted local wildlife.

Unified Command surveying grounded ships

The Unified Command deployed survey and response crews to inspect the "Ocean Wind" and the barge that still were aground on Ukolnoi Island, 40 miles east of Cold Bay, on Nov 22. The crews were to conduct dive surveys, assess the hull condition of the tug and use sonar to survey the area around the vessels. The crews would also tend to the boom around the tug, measure the amount of fuel onboard the tug and address any new pollution issues they encounter. The first priority is to get the dive assessments completed to ensure the safety of all future operations in the area. The diving operations, tug assessment and area surveys will allow Global Diving and Selvege to better refine the response plan to mitigate any potential environmental impacts and quickly salvage the vessels. The unified command also staged crews and equipment in King Cove to respond once the area surveys are completed and weather conditions on scene improve. A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak-based HC-130 Hercules aircrew conducted an aerial survey of the vessels on Nov 20 and reported that the vessels remained aground and there were no signs of pollution, additional damage or visible wildlife impacts. The flyover was the first survey since Nov 17 due to a winter storm that passed through the area, which kept response crews from safely arriving. An aerial survey conducted on Nov 16 had detected a fuel sheen around the grounded tug. Response crews were able to quickly arrive on scene and deploy containment and absorbent boom to help minimize any environmental impact. The fuel quantity aboard the Polar Wind has been reported as more than 20,500 gallons of diesel and the barge is reportedly carrying 1,800 gallons of diesel and 90 refrigerated cargo containers, 30 of which contain frozen fish. Report with photos: http://dec.alaska.gov/spar/perp/response/sum_fy13/121113201/121113201_index.htm

Response to oil sheen at grounded tug

The unified command consisting of the Coast Guard, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, and Northland Services on Nov 17, 2012, responded to a report of fuel sheen around the "Polar Wind" and the grounded barge on Ukolnoi Island, 40 miles east of Cold Bay. Response crews have deployed containment boom around the tug to help minimize any environmental impact after an aerial survey was conducted and personnel reported a light, broken, rainbow sheen around the grounded vessels on Nov 16. Upon receiving reports of the sheen in the water, the unified command activated their response plan to boom the vessels and minimized any environmental impact, their response crews were able to quickly respond to the situation. Initial evaluations of the tug showed propeller damage and a missing rudder. It was unknown if the fuel tanks have been damaged, however the sheen was reportedly coming from the tug. The barge has at least five flooded spaces in the hull and remained hard aground. The fuel quantity on board the "Polar Wind" has been updated to reportedly more than 20,500 gallons diesel and the barge is reportedly carrying 1,800 gallons of diesel and 90 refrigerated cargo containers, 30 of which are in use with a cargo of frozen fish. Northland Services hired Global Diving and Salvage to coordinate and manage the response remove the threat of pollution, and salvage of the stricken vessels. Alaska Chadux was working under the direction of Global to respond to any pollution issues. For the latest information please visit: http://dec.alaska.gov/spar/perp/response/sum_fy13/121113201/121113201_index.htm To