Sunken tugboat Powhatan to be raised on crane barge

The barge Salvation, the KP-2 deck barge, and two tugs tied up at Samson's dock. The Powhatan tug remains underwater, surrounded by containment boom. The owner plans to raise the tugboat on Thursday, June 8. (Photo courtesy Samson Tug & Barge)
The barge Salvation, the KP-2 deck barge, and two tugs tied up at Samson’s dock. The Powhatan tug remains underwater, surrounded by containment boom. The owner plans to raise the tugboat on Thursday, June 8. (Photo courtesy Samson Tug and Barge Company)

Updated | 3:26 p.m. Tuesday

A sunken Sitka tugboat will be hoisted to the surface on Thursday, June 8.

The Powhatan, a decommissioned tugboat, sank at its dock on April 19 and remains underwater in Starrigavan Bay.

The cause of the sinking is still under investigation.

The tug’s owner, Samson Tug and Barge Company, has contracted Alaska Commercial Divers and Pacific Pile & Marine to raise and dispose of the 81-foot vessel.

The Salvation, a wreck removal barge, arrived Saturday. Using a heavy lift crane, it will raise the Powhatan out of the water and lower it onto a deck barge for transport.

Three assistant tugs and the Neka Bay, an oil spill response vessel with skimming capabilities, also will be on scene to provide back-up.

The public boat launch will remain open, but there will be a no-wake zone during hoisting operations.

The Coast Guard Auxiliary in Sitka also will assist in directing boaters away from the area.

In the 50 days since the Powhatan has been underwater, over 6,800 gallons of oil mixed with water has been recovered.

Deflection boom lines Starrigavan Beach and a shellfish advisory remains in effect.

The Southeast Alaska Tribal Ocean Research group also is discouraging locals from digging for clams until further notice.

Samples from Starrigavan Beach show elevated levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins.

The state situation report says those toxins are unrelated to the oil spill.

Emily Kwong, KCAW


Original story | 2:01 p.m. Tuesday

Until the tugboat is salvaged, SEAPRO is maintaining containment boom around the Powhatan and deflection boom off of Starrigavan Beach. (Photo provided by Samson Tug & Barge)
Until the tugboat is salvaged, SEAPRO is maintaining containment boom around the Powhatan and deflection boom off of Starrigavan Beach. (Photo provided by Samson Tug & Barge)

SITKA — Officials are preparing to raise a sunken 81-foot tugboat Powhatan.

A crane barge arrived from Seattle over the weekend, the Daily Sitka Sentinel reported Monday, and divers are going to work over the week to prepare to lift the tug, which sank April 19.

The undertaking is expected to take 10 days, Coast Guard officials said.

Within one day after the tug sank, it slid off an underwater ledge to a resting place 1,500 feet offshore at a depth of 160 to 180 feet.

Officials say the plan is to hoist the boat, which has been out of service since 2006, on a 3-inch chain that will run under the boat’s hull.

The lift is scheduled to start Thursday.

Associated Press

KCAW - Sitka

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