Automatic source timelineSW Pass, Mississippi Delta, GOM, LATimeline updated 15 Sept 2026

M/V PAC ALKAID Oil Spill; SW Pass, Mississippi Delta, GOM, LA

NOAA initial notification: “At 0214 hrs on 30 October 2009, the regional NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator was notified by USCG Sector New Orleans of a reported oil release from an outbound cargo ship off SW Pass, Louisiana. The vessel PAC ALKAID, a 500-foot bulk cargo ship, reported losing heavy fuel […]”[1]

Follow the timeline Latest included source reportOriginal sources (4)

Latest included source report

Posted 5 Nov 2009

Latest source report

“Date: Nov. 2, 2009 Contact: O'Brien's Response Management (985) 781-0804 Contact: Lt. Stephen Nutting, U.S. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans (504) 846-5922 UPDATE: Freight ship hole patched, oil spill stopped NEW ORLEANS — Divers patched a hole in the motor vessel Pac Alkaid Sunday, preventing further spillage of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and enabling the freight ship to […]” Current outcome is not independently verified by seahazards.[4]

NOAA report chronology

4 dated source records · 30 Oct 2009 to 5 Nov 2009
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NOAA incident record opened

Initial notification excerpt: “At 0214 hrs on 30 October 2009, the regional NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator was notified by USCG Sector New Orleans of a reported oil release from an outbound cargo ship off SW Pass, Louisiana. The vessel PAC ALKAID, a 500-foot bulk cargo ship, reported losing heavy fuel oil at 0030 hrs. The cause and amount of release is presently unknown. The suspected damaged tank contains 2,500 bbls of oil. While the release rate is unknown, it is believed to be relatively small at present. NOAA is providing direct support to the USCG related to weather and trajectory analyses.”

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: 30 Oct 2009. NOAA incident record opened. NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track

  1. NOAA incident record opened

    Initial notification excerpt: “At 0214 hrs on 30 October 2009, the regional NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator was notified by USCG Sector New Orleans of a reported oil release from an outbound cargo ship off SW Pass, Louisiana. The vessel PAC ALKAID, a 500-foot bulk cargo ship, reported losing heavy fuel oil at 0030 hrs. The cause and amount of release is presently unknown. The suspected damaged tank contains 2,500 bbls of oil. While the release rate is unknown, it is believed to be relatively small at present. NOAA is providing direct support to the USCG related to weather and trajectory analyses.”

    NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track (28.872°, -89.340°)

    NOAA Office of Response and Restoration

  2. Morning Update, 31 Oct.

    Source report excerpt: “The vessel was repositioned roughly 10 miles to the S on Friday afternoon to reduce the threat of shoreline impact. It was determined that there would be little or no additional threat to the vessel by the move. An afternoon overflight (1430 hrs) reported that not much oil left observed except along jetty from pilot station to tip of SW Pass. No additional accumulation from before. What oil is there - a few streamers on the seaward side of the rocks (maybe 5-10 bbls) - appears to be breaking up (there are heavy seas). No oil was observed on top of water coming from vessel at that time. Small streamers of brown oil in water extended for 0.25 nm S from new anchorage. Mostly sheens observed […]”

    NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive

  3. Update, 2 Nov. AM

    Source report excerpt: “The last report that the regional NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator received was that the vessel was completing temporary repairs on Saturday afternoon. Given that there were no additional calls for support on Sunday, a safe assumption is that the active response phase has been completed. The regional NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator will follow up with Sector New Orleans later today to finalize this report.”

    NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive

  4. Nov. 2 USCG press release

    Source report excerpt: “Date: Nov. 2, 2009 Contact: O'Brien's Response Management (985) 781-0804 Contact: Lt. Stephen Nutting, U.S. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans (504) 846-5922 UPDATE: Freight ship hole patched, oil spill stopped NEW ORLEANS — Divers patched a hole in the motor vessel Pac Alkaid Sunday, preventing further spillage of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and enabling the freight ship to successfully transit up the Mississippi River to a shipyard in New Orleans. The initial discharge of an estimated 12,000 gallons of bunker oil was caused by a hole in the Pac Alkaid's hull which was approximately five centimeters in diameter and five feet below the waterline. At 2 a.m. Friday while the Pac Alkaid was […]”

    NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive
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Details in the record

Source record
NOAA IncidentNews 8137[1]
Dated source updates
3[2][3][4]

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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

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  1. 1.M/V PAC ALKAID Oil Spill; SW Pass, Mississippi Delta, GOM, LA ↗NOAA Office of Response and Restoration · 30 Oct 2009
  2. 2.Morning Update, 31 Oct. ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 31 Oct 2009
  3. 3.Update, 2 Nov. AM ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 2 Nov 2009
  4. 4.Nov. 2 USCG press release ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 5 Nov 2009

Related records in our archive

Original source text, preserved separately from this account.

NOAAORR-8137 NOAA response record
M/V PAC ALKAID Oil Spill; SW Pass, Mississippi Delta, GOM, LA.
SW Pass, Mississippi Delta, GOM, LA.
1. At 0214 hrs on 30 October 2009, the regional NOAA Scientific Support Coordinator was notified by USCG Sector New Orleans of a reported oil release from an outbound cargo ship off SW Pass, Louisiana. The vessel PAC ALKAID, a 500-foot bulk cargo ship, reported losing heavy fuel oil at 0030 hrs. The cause and amount of release is presently unknown. The suspected damaged tank contains 2,500 bbls of oil. While the release rate is unknown, it is believed to be relatively small at present. NOAA is providing direct support to the USCG related to weather and trajectory analyses.
2. THREAT: OIL. COMMODITY: HEAVY FUEL OIL. MAXIMUM POTENTIAL RELEASE: 105000 GALLONS.
3. POSITION 28.872N 089.340W. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 8137: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/8137
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