Automatic source timelineAghiyuk Island, W. Gulf of AlaskaTimeline updated 27 Sept 2026

F/V American Way; Aghiyuk Island, W. Gulf of Alaska

NOAA initial notification: “On January 6, 2009, Sector Anchorage notified the NOAA SSC of a potential incident in which a fiberglass 38' F/V American Way had engine problems enroute on a supply cruise between the villages of Kodiak and Chignik, on the Alaskan Peninsula. and was intentionally grounded on […]”[1]

Latest included source report

Posted 9 Jan 2009

Latest source report

“Magone was on-scene today and reported that he was unable to find the vessel or any vessel debris. However, it was around high tide. Due to bad weather, Magone returned to Chignik to await further information from a CG overflight. Later in the day the CG overflight reported finding the vessel at the same location as before; it was sunken with no sheen visible. Photos will be […]” Current outcome is not independently verified by seahazards.[3]

NOAA report chronology

3 dated source records · 6 Jan 2009 to 9 Jan 2009
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NOAA incident record opened

Initial notification excerpt: “On January 6, 2009, Sector Anchorage notified the NOAA SSC of a potential incident in which a fiberglass 38' F/V American Way had engine problems enroute on a supply cruise between the villages of Kodiak and Chignik, on the Alaskan Peninsula. and was intentionally grounded on Aghiyuk Island, SW of Kodiak Island. The vessel had 650 gallons of diesel fuel in tanks and 4 drums of diesel on board. After grounding, the 2-man crew abandoned the vessel and was rescued by the CG and taken to Chignik. Aghiyuk Island is part of the Alaska Maritime NWR. The CG requested weather and possible oil fate should any release occur. Due to bad weather an initial CG overflight was unable to obtain any clear […]”

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 3: 6 Jan 2009. NOAA incident record opened. NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track

  1. NOAA incident record opened

    Initial notification excerpt: “On January 6, 2009, Sector Anchorage notified the NOAA SSC of a potential incident in which a fiberglass 38' F/V American Way had engine problems enroute on a supply cruise between the villages of Kodiak and Chignik, on the Alaskan Peninsula. and was intentionally grounded on Aghiyuk Island, SW of Kodiak Island. The vessel had 650 gallons of diesel fuel in tanks and 4 drums of diesel on board. After grounding, the 2-man crew abandoned the vessel and was rescued by the CG and taken to Chignik. Aghiyuk Island is part of the Alaska Maritime NWR. The CG requested weather and possible oil fate should any release occur. Due to bad weather an initial CG overflight was unable to obtain any clear […]”

    NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track (56.226°, -156.769°)

  2. Thursday morning, Jan. 8, CG Briefing

    Source report excerpt: “Thursday morning, Jan. 8, meeting with FOSC Capt Mark Hamilton and his staff: Capt. Hamilton had just returned to Anchorage from 5-6 days in the lower-48, and initially was fully briefed on the details of the incident. New information as of today included arrivial of Magone on-scene early this morning, after picking up the Master in Chignik, to assess the situation and provide Sector Anchorage with a salvage plan later on today. Good tidal height information (see next posting) was provided by NOAA in order to correlate the disposition of the vessel in the Jan. 7 photos (around 1100 to 1300 on Jan. 7) with the tidal conditions that occurred during the vessel’s initial grounding on Sun., Jan. […]”

  3. CG Situation report-Jan. 8 evening

    Source report excerpt: “Magone was on-scene today and reported that he was unable to find the vessel or any vessel debris. However, it was around high tide. Due to bad weather, Magone returned to Chignik to await further information from a CG overflight. Later in the day the CG overflight reported finding the vessel at the same location as before; it was sunken with no sheen visible. Photos will be availabe this evening. Magone will probably resume his search for the vessel, depending on the weather. However, the narrow window of light this time of year in Alaska (1000 to 1600), combined with the tidal height schedule for the next several days (see next posting), isn't very propitious for searching.”

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Details in the record

Source record
NOAA IncidentNews 7945[1]
Dated source updates
2[2][3]

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.

These are excerpts from the source, not independently verified conclusions. Publication order can differ from the sequence of events. Follow the source links for the complete reports.

Original sources

Timeline updated 27 Sept 2026. New reports and changes to this NOAA incident are incorporated automatically; this is not a live incident feed.

  1. 1.F/V American Way; Aghiyuk Island, W. Gulf of Alaska ↗NOAA Office of Response and Restoration · 6 Jan 2009
  2. 2.Thursday morning, Jan. 8, CG Briefing ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 8 Jan 2009
  3. 3.CG Situation report-Jan. 8 evening ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 9 Jan 2009

Related records in our archive

Original source text, preserved separately from this account.

NOAAORR-7945 NOAA response record
F/V American Way; Aghiyuk Island,  W. Gulf of Alaska.
Aghiyuk Island,  W. Gulf of Alaska.
1. On January 6, 2009, Sector Anchorage notified the NOAA SSC of a potential incident in which a fiberglass 38' F/V American Way had engine problems enroute on a supply cruise between the villages of Kodiak and Chignik, on the Alaskan Peninsula. and was intentionally grounded on Aghiyuk Island, SW of Kodiak Island. The vessel had 650 gallons of diesel fuel in tanks and 4 drums of diesel on board. After grounding, the 2-man crew abandoned the vessel and was rescued by the CG and taken to Chignik. Aghiyuk Island is part of the Alaska Maritime NWR. The CG requested weather and possible oil fate should any release occur. Due to bad weather an initial CG overflight was unable to obtain any clear view or photos of the vessels. In order to assess the condition and situation of the vessel, the CG hired Magone Marine out of Dutch Harbor. Due to distance, however, their ETA was some time on Jan. 8. [...]
2. THREAT: OIL. COMMODITY: DIESEL. MAXIMUM POTENTIAL RELEASE: 850 GALLONS. TAGS: GROUNDING.
3. POSITION 56.226N 156.769W. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 7945: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/7945
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