M/V Lituya; Metlakatla, SE Alaska
NOAA initial notification: “Call received from Sector Juneau at 0300, Jan. 30, reporting that the Alaska Marine Highway ferry, the MV Lituya was aground on Scrub Island roughly one-half mile north of Metlakatla, SE Alaska, in 50 to 80 knot winds. The vessel was successfully abandoned, but has 7000 gals of […]”[1]
Latest included source report
Posted 31 Jan 2009
Latest source report
“Lightering operations commenced at 12:05 PM on Friday following the plan approval by the Unified Command. Approximately 540 gallons of diesel oil were successfully lightered by 1:15 PM to the Southeast Alaska Petroleum Resource Organization (SEAPRO) oil spill response barge on scene. The vessel began to lift from the rocks at approximately 1:15 PM so lightering operations were […]” Current outcome is not independently verified by seahazards.[5]
NOAA report chronology
5 dated source records · 30 Jan 2009 to 31 Jan 2009NOAA incident record opened
Initial notification excerpt: “Call received from Sector Juneau at 0300, Jan. 30, reporting that the Alaska Marine Highway ferry, the MV Lituya was aground on Scrub Island roughly one-half mile north of Metlakatla, SE Alaska, in 50 to 80 knot winds. The vessel was successfully abandoned, but has 7000 gals of diesel onboard. So far nothing has been released. Sector Juneau requested a trajectory and weather forecast.”
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 5: 30 Jan 2009. NOAA incident record opened. NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track
NOAA incident record opened
Initial notification excerpt: “Call received from Sector Juneau at 0300, Jan. 30, reporting that the Alaska Marine Highway ferry, the MV Lituya was aground on Scrub Island roughly one-half mile north of Metlakatla, SE Alaska, in 50 to 80 knot winds. The vessel was successfully abandoned, but has 7000 gals of diesel onboard. So far nothing has been released. Sector Juneau requested a trajectory and weather forecast.”
NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track (55.141°, -131.568°)
NWS SPOT forecast
Source report excerpt: “http://spot.nws.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/spot/spotfcst?site=ajk&file=20090130.MVLIY.01 Note the 20 foot wind means 20 feet above the surface ... basically surface winds *FORECAST:* IF CONDITIONS BECOME UNREPRESENTATIVE, CONTACT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. ...FORECAST FOR M/V LITUYA GROUNDING SITE... DISCUSSION...A STRONG COLDFRONT PASSED THROUGH SITE ABOUT 2 AM AKST. SEVERAL CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH FRONTAL PASSAGE OCCURRED FROM 1 AM THROUGH 3 AM AKST: BASED ON WIND DIRECTIONS USING ANNETTE AND METLAKATLA SEAPLANE BASE THE WIND SHIFTED FROM SE25G50KT TO SW20G30KT AT FRONTAL PASSAGE. THE COLD AIRMASS BEHIND THE FRONT IS RESULTING IN TEMPERTURES ALREADY FALLING THROUGH THE DAY TODAY, I.E. THE […]”
0530 – Friday morning, Jan. 30; misstatement in amount of fuel
Source report excerpt: “Report from Juneau Command Post: Winds have calmed down enough (SSE 25-30 kts) to allow the captain to reboard the vessel. Turns out that the captain related the wrong amount of fuel on board; it is only 7000 gallons of diesel. The vessel is currently grounded at the bow and the two fuel tanks, each with roughly 3500 gallons, are approximately 30 feet from the point of grounding, and no fuel has yet escaped. Low tide is a 0630 AT this morning, at which point the vessel is expected to be fully agrounded. Lots of resources have been ordered to the scene including tugs and barges from Ketchikan and lots of boom for protection of sensitive areas. Plans are now to attempt to refloat the vessel […]”
USCG Press Release
Source report excerpt: “News Release Date: Jan. 30, 2009 Contact: Lt. Brierley Ostrander Phone: 907-463-2980 Alaska State Ferry breaks free from mooring, aground JUNEAU, Alaska - The Alaska State Ferry Lituya, a 180-foot motor vessel home ported in Metlakatla, Alaska, broke loose from its moorings at the ferry pier in Metlakatla and is reported aground one mile north on Scrub Island, Alaska, in Port Chester at 1 a.m. Friday. Coast Guard Cutter Anthony Petit, a 175-foot buoy tender home ported in Ketchikan, Alaska, is making preparations to get underway and is scheduled to arrive on scene at sunrise. Coast Guard Air Station Sitka and Coast Guard Station Ketchikan will launch assets as soon as weather conditions […]”
Final report - MV Lituya safely in Ketchikan
Source report excerpt: “Lightering operations commenced at 12:05 PM on Friday following the plan approval by the Unified Command. Approximately 540 gallons of diesel oil were successfully lightered by 1:15 PM to the Southeast Alaska Petroleum Resource Organization (SEAPRO) oil spill response barge on scene. The vessel began to lift from the rocks at approximately 1:15 PM so lightering operations were suspended and towing bridals rigged on the vessel. The vessel floated free from Scrub Island at 2:12 PM and was moved to deeper water by tugs on scene. Per the salvage plan approved by Unified Command, the M/V Lituya underwent internal and underwater assessments to determine its seaworthiness for transit to the Alaska […]”
Share or embed this incident
Add a dated incident card to your article or website. It links readers to the complete timeline and original sources. The card contains no ads or tracking scripts.
Card preview
Open card ↗The card follows the automatically assembled NOAA timeline. Dates identify source postings, not necessarily event times; the latest report is not a verified outcome. Your publishing platform must support iframe embeds.
Details in the record
- Source record
- NOAA IncidentNews 7962[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.
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 25 Sept 2026. New reports and changes to this NOAA incident are incorporated automatically; this is not a live incident feed.
- 1.M/V Lituya; Metlakatla, SE Alaska ↗NOAA Office of Response and Restoration · 30 Jan 2009
- 2.NWS SPOT forecast ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 30 Jan 2009
- 3.0530 – Friday morning, Jan. 30; misstatement in amount of fuel ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 30 Jan 2009
- 4.USCG Press Release ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 30 Jan 2009
- 5.Final report - MV Lituya safely in Ketchikan ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 31 Jan 2009
Related records in our archive
Original source text, preserved separately from this account.
NOAAORR-7962 NOAA response record
M/V Lituya; Metlakatla, SE Alaska. Metlakatla, SE Alaska. 1. Call received from Sector Juneau at 0300, Jan. 30, reporting that the Alaska Marine Highway ferry, the MV Lituya was aground on Scrub Island roughly one-half mile north of Metlakatla, SE Alaska, in 50 to 80 knot winds. The vessel was successfully abandoned, but has 7000 gals of diesel onboard. So far nothing has been released. Sector Juneau requested a trajectory and weather forecast. 2. THREAT: OIL. COMMODITY: DIESEL . MAXIMUM POTENTIAL RELEASE: 7000 GALLONS. TAGS: GROUNDING. 3. POSITION 55.141N 131.568W. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 7962: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/7962Open record and warning history →
Follow another incident
Not for navigation. Follow official NAVAREA broadcasts and your national MSI service. About our sources.