Homer port employees help save sinking vessel

Homer Port and Harbor officials say employees helped saved a vessel from sinking on Tuesday.

Early that morning, a harbor officer found the vessel Klahowya sinking and semi-submerged at its moorings and called for help, Deputy Harbormaster Matt Clarke said.

“He was able to install and implement emergency de-watering pumps before my arrival and was unsuccessful in saving the vessel,” Clarke said. “In further correspondence with him we realized that it was actually sunk and not achievable to successfully de-water based on the time that he had found it. So, we think it probably started taking on water and sinking somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning.”

The Klahowya is a 42-foot wooden motor sailor built in the 1940s, Clarke said.

He says the vessel sustained damage to its hull about a month ago and the owner told the port it was fixed.

The Klahowya was located adjacent to the Kachemak Voyager’s berth –- that’s the ferry that goes to Seldovia – and in the middle of two other vessels, which Clarke said helped save it.

“It was the middle vessel of a raft of three vessels so in a sense, when she began to sink and take on water, she was supported by the vessels mooring lines that it was tied off to on either side of her,” he said. “So, it did not sink to the bottom, it kind of started to reach a semi-submerged state.”

The adjacent vessels’ mooring lines, combined with the buoyancy of the Homer Harbor tug, which Harbor employees attached to the Klahowya’s stern, provided enough support to stabilize the vessel until the dive and salvage company arrived.

About 1 p.m., a diver positioned one air lift bag under the stern of the Klahowya and inflated it, which worked.

“We broke the gunnels in its stern and we were able to essentially plug all of the openings, the wholes the scuppers the through-hole fittings necessary to allow our three gas pumps, our two and three-inch gas pumps to commence rapid dewatering of the vessel,” Clarke said. “So once the gunnels were broke we had it beat and it wasn’t another hour or so until it was ultimately, entirely dewatered.”

The ferry’s berth was cleared by 1:30 p.m.

During the rescue the Seldovia ferry could not use its stall.

Homer Harbor staff cleared an alternate landing site about 400 feet away from her normal berth. The ferry was delayed about a half-hour.

The Klahowya is currently being monitored by Homer Harbor staff.

There are two auto bilge pumps on board now and the vessel is scheduled to be hauled out of the harbor to the boat yard on this Thursday afternoon.

Homer Port and Harbor officials are not releasing the vessel owner’s name at this time.

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