Spills · oil

Diesel release from sunk tug vessel; steamboat slough, bethel, ak

NOAAORR-10687

issued
2023-11-02 00:00Z
status
cancelled 2023-11-16 00:00Z
self-cancels
2023-11-16 00:00Z
authority
NOAA OR&R
sea
Bering Sea
position
60.786, -161.699
source
incidentnews · first seen 2026-09-03 15:09Z

Original warning text

Diesel Release from Sunk Tug Vessel; Steamboat Slough, Bethel, AK.
Steamboat Slough, Bethel, AK, USA.
1. On October 30, 2023, at approximately 1500 local time, a sheen was reported on the Kuskokwim River by a Bethel Search and Rescue team member. The sheen was traced back to the partially submerged Vitus owned tug vessel Francis Snow which was grounded in Steamboat Slough off of the Kuskokwim River. The vessel sank due to a crack in the hull and has a max fuel capacity of 2,500 gallons, but it is estimated that only 250-300 gallons of diesel were aboard. The incident location is just incident EPA jurisdiction and they are currently the FOSC, however USCG jurisdiction is downstream and they are monitoring the situation. The source has been secured and the vessel was refloated on 31-OCT. NOAA acting AK SSC was not notified directly by EPA, but has been included on email traffic and invited to meetings for water sampling collection.
2. THREAT: OIL. COMMODITY: DIESEL. MAXIMUM POTENTIAL RELEASE: 300 GALLONS.
3. POSITION 60.786N 161.699W. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 10687: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/10687

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Timeline · 2 messages since 2023-11-02 · closed 2023-11-21

  1. Diesel release from sunk tug vessel; steamboat slough, bethel, ak this message2023-11-02 → 2023-11-16
  2. Nunapitchuk, ak, USA2023-11-07 → 2023-11-21

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