Adak Petroleum tank release; Adak Island, Aleutian Isls, Alaska
NOAA initial notification: “NOAA Alaska SSC was notified at 1930 on January 11 that 3200 barrels of diesel was released from an underground tank operated by Adak Petroleum from an underground tank on the west side of Sweeper Cove, upslope from the small boat harbor. Fuel was being transferred from a tanker […]”[1]
Latest included source report
Posted 14 Jan 2010
Latest source report
“Date: Jan. 12, 2010 Contact: Joint Information Center (907) 487-5700 USCG: (907) 321-4505 or (907) 321-4501 ADEC: (907) 269-7682 Adak Petroleum: (907) 592-8330 News Release Unified command established for response to fuel spill on Adak, recovery operations underway KODIAK, Alaska - A map depicts the location of the fuel leak near Helmet Creek on Adak Island which occurred Jan. […]” Current outcome is not independently verified by seahazards.[4]
NOAA report chronology
4 dated source records · 11 Jan 2010 to 14 Jan 2010NOAA incident record opened
Initial notification excerpt: “NOAA Alaska SSC was notified at 1930 on January 11 that 3200 barrels of diesel was released from an underground tank operated by Adak Petroleum from an underground tank on the west side of Sweeper Cove, upslope from the small boat harbor. Fuel was being transferred from a tanker at the adjacent loading dock, when overflow of the tank occurred discharging the diesel into an adjacent oil/water separator. This unit was also overwhelmed and the fuel entered Helmet Creek which flows into the small boat harbor portion of Sweeper Cove. Initially, two areas of hard boom with sorbent boom were placed along the creek and a vac truck was deployed at the oil/water separator. As of the morning of Jan. […]”
NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track
Initial incident area only. Dates are NOAA postings, not a vessel track. Playback advances every 5 seconds.
Milestone 1 of 4: 11 Jan 2010. NOAA incident record opened. NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track
NOAA incident record opened
Initial notification excerpt: “NOAA Alaska SSC was notified at 1930 on January 11 that 3200 barrels of diesel was released from an underground tank operated by Adak Petroleum from an underground tank on the west side of Sweeper Cove, upslope from the small boat harbor. Fuel was being transferred from a tanker at the adjacent loading dock, when overflow of the tank occurred discharging the diesel into an adjacent oil/water separator. This unit was also overwhelmed and the fuel entered Helmet Creek which flows into the small boat harbor portion of Sweeper Cove. Initially, two areas of hard boom with sorbent boom were placed along the creek and a vac truck was deployed at the oil/water separator. As of the morning of Jan. […]”
NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track (51.863°, -176.639°)
USCG Press Release
Source report excerpt: “Correction: Coast Guard responds to fuel spill near Adak KODIAK, Alaska – Coast Guard Sector Anchorage personnel are responding to a report of a leaking underground diesel tank that has spilled into Sweeper Cove on Adak Island Monday. Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector Anchorage command center received a report about 6:40 p.m. from Adak Petroleum personnel stating an underground tank containing approximately 100,000 barrels of #2 diesel fuel had reportedly released an unknown amount of fuel. Adak Petroleum personnel reported the diesel fuel is contained with boom within the cove and is also using recovery equipment to clean up the fuel. Coast Guard and Alaska Department of Environmental […]”
Anchorage News
Source report excerpt: “Diesel fuel leak in Aleutians threatens wildlife habitat By MEGAN HOLLAND mholland@adn.com Published: January 12th, 2010 12:23 PM Last Modified: January 12th, 2010 12:24 PM The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Coast Guard are responding to a diesel fuel leak on Adak Island that is threatening a critical otter habitat. Initial reports are that an estimated 3,000 barrels, or roughly 126,000 gallons, of No. 2 diesel leaked from an underground storage tank as a ship was off-loading the fuel to the storage unit yesterday afternoon, said DEC on-site coordinator Gary Folley. A diesel smell was noticed in nearby Sweeper Cove, and workers stopped the transfer process, he […]”
USCG press release 1-12
Source report excerpt: “Date: Jan. 12, 2010 Contact: Joint Information Center (907) 487-5700 USCG: (907) 321-4505 or (907) 321-4501 ADEC: (907) 269-7682 Adak Petroleum: (907) 592-8330 News Release Unified command established for response to fuel spill on Adak, recovery operations underway KODIAK, Alaska - A map depicts the location of the fuel leak near Helmet Creek on Adak Island which occurred Jan. 11, 2010. Image courtesy of Google maps. Editors Note: For larger image please click the icon above. Illustration courtesy Google maps and Coast Guard District Seventeen. KODIAK, Alaska – A unified command has been established and is continuing to respond Tuesday to the discharge of diesel fuel from an underground oil […]”
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Details in the record
- Source record
- NOAA IncidentNews 8175[1]
Reading this account
Automatically assembled from NOAA's incident record and substantive Public Affairs or Situation Update posts. Dates are NOAA posting dates, which can differ from when events happened or original reports were published. Excerpts retain the source's wording and uncertainty. This account does not independently establish the cause, current outcome or safety of the area. NOAA coverage is selective; missing updates do not mean nothing happened. The map shows one approximate incident area, not a vessel track.
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Original sources
Timeline updated 13 Sept 2026. New reports and changes to this NOAA incident are incorporated automatically; this is not a live incident feed.
- 1.Adak Petroleum tank release; Adak Island, Aleutian Isls, Alaska ↗NOAA Office of Response and Restoration · 11 Jan 2010
- 2.USCG Press Release ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 12 Jan 2010
- 3.Anchorage News ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 12 Jan 2010
- 4.USCG press release 1-12 ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 14 Jan 2010
Related records in our archive
Original source text, preserved separately from this account.
NOAAORR-8175 NOAA response record
Adak Petroleum tank release; Adak Island, Aleutian Isls, Alaska. Adak Island, Aleutian Isls, Alaska. 1. NOAA Alaska SSC was notified at 1930 on January 11 that 3200 barrels of diesel was released from an underground tank operated by Adak Petroleum from an underground tank on the west side of Sweeper Cove, upslope from the small boat harbor. Fuel was being transferred from a tanker at the adjacent loading dock, when overflow of the tank occurred discharging the diesel into an adjacent oil/water separator. This unit was also overwhelmed and the fuel entered Helmet Creek which flows into the small boat harbor portion of Sweeper Cove. Initially, two areas of hard boom with sorbent boom were placed along the creek and a vac truck was deployed at the oil/water separator. As of the morning of Jan. 12, it is believed that the vast majority of the diesel was confined to or collected in the stream, and only an estimated 1000 gallons had entered the small boat harbor. Apparently conditions are [...] 2. THREAT: OIL. COMMODITY: DIESEL. MAXIMUM POTENTIAL RELEASE: 4746000 GALLONS. 3. POSITION 51.863N 176.639W. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 8175: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/8175Open record and warning history →
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