Crews have been working for four days to contain a fuel spill in Neva Strait after a tugboat ran aground early Monday morning. The Western Mariner was towing an Alaska Marine Lines freight barge when the two vessels collided after a steering failure, and the tug was pushed onto the beach. The barge, the Chichagof Provider, was brought back to Sitka earlier this week, but the tugboat remains grounded.
On Thursday evening, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation reported that salvagers had sealed off the remaining sources of the leaking fuel, and no more fuel was escaping.
The amount of spilled diesel is still unknown, but the Western Mariner was carrying an estimated 45,000 gallons of fuel when the accident occurred.
According to a press release from the DEC, through Wednesday night salvagers had not controlled the source of the spill, and fuel was still entering the boat’s engine room. Response crews deployed containment boom in the area and began skimming the water on Monday. Over the last four days, they skimmed at least 1,200 gallons of oily water along with nearly 5000 gallons of diesel and water from the tug’s engine room.
Skimming efforts were put on hold early Tuesday due to poor weather conditions. Conditions were so bad that a small, private vessel responding to the incident capsized on its way back to Sitka on Tuesday. All four aboard the boat were rescued.
Local concern over the situation is growing, as the Western Mariner is aground about five miles north of Krestof Sound, an area where Pacific herring are known to spawn in the spring. On Thursday evening, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reported observing sheen from Salisbury Sound through Neva Strait. For the first time, sheen was reported in Krestof Sound to Double Island and in Olga Strait. They did not observe any sheen in Hayward Strait, where numerous schools of herring were seen Thursday, moving into Promisla and Eastern Bay.
Nevertheless, the commercial sac roe herring fishery remains on two-hour notice. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game conducted five test sets Thursday, averaging between 9 and 11 percent mature roe and weighing on average between 117 and 134 grams.
According to the DEC, environmental shoreline assessments will be conducted over the weekend.