Crowley Tug Pathfinder; Bligh Reef, Prince William Sound, Alaska

Source report excerpt: “Office of Public Affairs U.S. Coast Guard Seventeenth District United States Coast Guard Date: Dec. 24, 2009 Contact: 907-321-4505 Petty Officer 3rd Class Charly Hengen News Release Coast Guard responding to tug grouding in Prince William Sound VALDEZ, Alaska – Coast Guard personnel from Marine Safety Unit Valdez, Sector Anchorage and Cutter Long Island are responding to a 136-foot Crowley tug grounding on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound Thursday. The Pathfinder crew had completed an ice survey and was heading back to its port in Valdez when the vessel struck the reef Wednesday evening. Vessel Traffic System Prince William Sound personnel received a radio call at 6:15 p.m. from […]”

Source report excerpt: “JUNEAU, Alaska – The Coast Guard, Alaska Department of Conservation, Crowley Marine, Ship Escort Response Vessel System and O'Brien's Group as part of the incident management team are responding to the earlier grounding of the 136-foot Crowley tug Pathfinder on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound Wednesday evening. Two of the tug's center-line diesel fuel tanks were reported breached with potential spill of 33, 500 gallons. The total capacity of the vessel is approximately 127, 700 gallons of diesel fuel. A dive team transported by the vessel Alaska Challenger to conduct a hull inspection, reported extensive damage to the hull, including a 4-5 foot section of the keel missing. A barge is […]”

Source report excerpt: “Pathfinder Sitrep: Dec. 24, 2009 noon 1. CAUSE OF SPILL: The tug had completed an ice survey and was headed back to port at the time of the grounding. The cause of the grounding is unknown at this time and is being investigated by USCG and ADEC. 2. RESPONSE ACTIONS : Spill containment boom was immediately deployed around the vessel. The initial visual survey did not indicate any damage to the sides of the hull. A sheen was observed coming from the keel coolers of the tug. The tug transited to Busby Island and is currently anchored at that location. R & R Diving Services was immediately dispatched to conduct an underwater survey to assess the damage. The underwater survey was completed at […]”

Source report excerpt: “Lightering begins on tug Pathfinder in Prince William Sound VALDEZ, Alaska – The Crowley tugboat Pathfinder remains at anchor south of Busby Island and surrounded by containment boom with spill responders staged nearby. After suspending lightering Friday morning, the unified command authorized restarting lightering diesel fuel from the Pathfinder’s two damaged fuel tanks. Lightering has commenced with good fuel flow as of 4:15 p.m. and is estimated to take between six and 12 hours. Over-flights earlier in the day identified a 50-foot by one mile sheen that extends south of the Pathfinder’s boom. The boom was temporarily compromised overnight. This afternoon responders have a secondary boom […]”

Source report excerpt: “http://www.uscgalaska.com/go/doc/780/436007/ VALDEZ, Alaska – The tugboat Pathfinder has been safely towed to and moored at the Valdez Petroleum Terminal in the Port of Valdez at 12:56 a.m., Sunday. After a ten-hour approximately 20-mile transit through Prince William Sound, the Pathfinder is safely in Valdez. The return of the tug to Valdez further progresses the command’s goal of safely and efficiently bringing the incident to a successful conclusion. “Once the Pathfinder is secured at the pier, our next step it to assess the quantity of fuel recovered and lost,” said John Engles, field State on Scene Coordinator. “We will continue to address any potential impact to the environment.” […]”

Source report excerpt: “http://www.uscgalaska.com/go/doc/780/436063/ VALDEZ, Alaska - The tug Pathfinder was moored at Port of Valdez early Sunday morning after being safely towed from Busby Island in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Crews will begin to remove fuel from the vessel over the weekend. A limited amount of diesel fuel will remain on board in order to power ship systems while the vessel’s damage is more fully assessed. The results of the today’s observation flight did not indicate any sign of fuel spilled during the vessel’s transit to Valdez. Crews are decontaminating boom and recovered fuel storage tanks so they can be returned to standby service in local oil spill response inventories. The Unified […]”