Umtb 283; aleutian islands, alaska

Original warning text

UMTB 283; Aleutian Islands, Alaska.
Aleutian Islands, Alaska.
1. On December 26, 1988, the United Marine Tug and Barge, Inc. (UMTB) Tank Barge 283, towed by the tug Marine Explorer, began sinking stern down approximately 35 miles southeast of Simeonof Island, on the western side of the Gulf of Alaska. The tug and barge, en route to Dutch Harbor with approximately 47,620 barrels of diesel on board, encountered extremely rough weather. The pump room and starboard aft tanks, which had been empty, were now flooded, causing the barge to turn bow-up with approximately 80 feet of the barge above water and the remaining 200 feet below the surface. The tug's crew members observed oil coming from the vicinity of the waste oil tanks in the stern area. Although the barge owner speculated that the stern anchor had punctured the aft waste oil tank, the exact cause of the sinking was never determined. The salvage vessel M/V Salvage Chief hired by Seattle-based UMTB [...]
2. THREAT: OIL. COMMODITY: DIESEL. MAXIMUM POTENTIAL RELEASE: 2000040 GALLONS.
3. POSITION 54.767N 158.300W. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 6643: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/6643