Salvors Prepare to Remove Wrecked Fishing Vessel From St. George

In early August, a team of salvors will embark on the delicate task of removing the wreck of a crab fishing boat that grounded on the coast of St. George in January.

After months of being unable to work on the wreck of the Arctic Sea, a 134-foot fishing vessel that grounded on January 5, Alaskan officials now have a clear status of the wreck. Rough weather has impeded progress this year, but the removal will begin next month.

A situation report from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) indicates that since the grounding, it took salvage teams at least six months to reach the wreck and carry out a detailed survey. Arctic Sea went aground carrying 50,000 gallons of diesel, roughly 2,000 gallons of hydraulic fluid and lube oil, and some 11,000 pounds of crab in her holds.

A sheen appeared within two days of the grounding. Crews aboard the response vessel Makushin Bay spotted it, as did St. George residents looking down from the bluff above the wreck. At its largest, the slick stretched an estimated six to eight miles and pushed about 200 yards out from shore.

Most of the detail was established over the past two months. On June 1, a crew from Global Diving & Salvage managed to board the hull and run a pollution survey. They determined that ten of the vessel's eleven fuel tanks had emptied into the sea — roughly 45,000 gallons of diesel in all — along with all 2,000 gallons of lube oil and hydraulic fluid.

The eleventh tank was the exception. The No. 2 starboard double-bottom tank, rated at 5,821 gallons, still held its diesel, and the survey team sealed off its vent and standpipe to stop any further loss. The fish holds had been left open and were empty.

A second team from Resolve Marine went aboard on June 20 to size up the wreck for removal. They found the intact fuel tank had also taken on seawater, and that the hull itself was coming apart — cracked along both the port and starboard sides, with sections of the bow already torn away.

With that assessment in hand, DEC says the Makushin Bay, a 130-foot U.S.-flagged salvage tug operated by Resolve Marine, is holding offshore for a workable weather window before the operation can begin. The crew hopes to finish the job before the Bering Sea's winter weather sets in.

According to DEC, the oil spill poses significant dangers to marine life and birds in the environmentally sensitive area.