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Oil Spreads; 6 still missing (Gulf of Alaska)
Anchorage Daily News ^ | 12-10-04 | DON HUNTER, JOEL GAY MEGAN HOLLAND and TATABOLINE BRANT

Posted on 12/10/2004 1:00:15 PM PST by Species8472

Thousands of gallons of oil gushed from a broken freighter and fouled Unalaska Island beaches Thursday as hope dwindled for six of its crew who were lost the night before in the crash of a Coast Guard rescue helicopter.

Daylight brought calmer seas to the rugged, rocky west shore of Unalaska, but revealed an ugly sight: A thick sheen of oil spreading hundreds of yards from the two halves of the vessel in all directions.

Responders flying over the scene Thursday saw what they thought looked like two dead cormorants.

Rear Adm. Jim Olson, the Coast Guard commander in Alaska, said at a late-night press conference that the agency believes the freighter was adrift for about 13 hours before its crew notified the Coast Guard they were in trouble. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the freighter's grounding.

Asked whether he thought the vessel should have contacted the Coast Guard sooner, Olson said investigators will determine that. "We always ask that people call as soon as they can," he said. But it was severe winter squall conditions that limited the Coast Guard's ability to assist the freighter, he said.

Olson made a daylong round-trip journey from Anchorage to Unalaska Thursday for a firsthand look. On his return, he dropped off in Kodiak the four-man crew of the helicopter that crashed.

"They're doing well," Olson said. "Quite honestly, they're glad to be alive, but they also are very upset that they were in an accident and six people lost their lives."

It was still unclear what caused the helicopter to go down. It went into the water near the freighter. The Coast Guard will investigate, but that could be a lengthy process.

(Excerpt) Read more at adn.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events; US: Alaska
KEYWORDS: beringsea; coastguard; helecoptercrash; oilspill; rescue; selendangayu; uscg
Kudos to the Coasties for their rescue work in unimaginable conditions; 20 foot seas, 40 kt winds and shallow water!


1 posted on 12/10/2004 1:00:16 PM PST by Species8472
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To: Species8472

BUSH'S FAULT!!!!

/librat


2 posted on 12/10/2004 1:08:43 PM PST by RandallFlagg (FReepers, Do NOT let the voter fraud stories die!!!! (Magnetic bumper stickers-click my name))
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To: Species8472

Didn't we build a pipeline at considerable cost during the Carter era?


3 posted on 12/10/2004 1:10:02 PM PST by Destro (Know your enemy! Help fight Islamic terrorism by visiting johnathangaltfilms.com and jihadwatch.org)
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To: Destro

Yes, we did, and the oil has to go somewhere. In this case into a tanker.


4 posted on 12/10/2004 1:11:16 PM PST by Archangelsk (Plain, simple soldier. Nothing more, nothing less.)
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To: Destro

This was not an oil tanker, It was full of soybeans. The fuel spill is heavy bunker fuel oil that powers the ship.


5 posted on 12/10/2004 1:20:14 PM PST by Species8472
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To: Species8472

Oh - still a valid question.


6 posted on 12/10/2004 1:21:15 PM PST by Destro (Know your enemy! Help fight Islamic terrorism by visiting johnathangaltfilms.com and jihadwatch.org)
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To: Species8472

I assume this was not a double hull tanker.


7 posted on 12/10/2004 1:24:00 PM PST by savedbygrace ("No Monday morning quarterback has never led a team to victory" GW Bush)
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To: Destro

The pipeline is still active, It supplies about 15% of the USA's domestic crude.


8 posted on 12/10/2004 1:26:02 PM PST by Species8472
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To: Species8472
I'm glad this happened at the beginning of winter as it will be too cold for the bleeding-heart idiot animal-worshippers from rushing out there and par-boiling the oil-covered birds and then brushing all their feathers off like they did after the Valdez incident.

By the time the tmperature climbs back above freezing, all of this oil will have churned itself by the action of the water into tar balls and will have sunk back to the bottom of the sea where it belongs.

9 posted on 12/10/2004 1:32:56 PM PST by Old Professer (The accidental trumps the purposeful in every endeavor attended by the incompetent.)
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To: savedbygrace

Note post above saying this was not an oil tanker. Also, am I the only one offended that the possible sighting of "two dead cormorants" is discussed in a story in which six people are dead? They are worrying about two dead birds, which are unimaginably abundant in Alaska. maybe they should write about the dead pigeon I saw in a city park today. What idiots.


10 posted on 12/10/2004 1:35:55 PM PST by Williams
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To: Williams
My mistake. I didn't read the article, only did a search on double and hull. Then, to compound my error, I looked at the graphic, and it looked enough like a tanker to these eyes that never read the article and ASSUMED it was a tanker.

I am flogging myself even as we speak.

11 posted on 12/10/2004 1:43:51 PM PST by savedbygrace ("No Monday morning quarterback has never led a team to victory" GW Bush)
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To: Old Professer
I'm glad this happened at the beginning of winter as it will be too cold for the bleeding-heart idiot animal-worshippers from rushing out there and par-boiling the oil-covered birds and then brushing all their feathers

LOL! I think they would make it about 15 minutes in this weather!

12 posted on 12/10/2004 1:45:02 PM PST by Species8472
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To: savedbygrace

Go here for photos:

http://www.adn.com/photos/selendang/index.html

Good pics.


13 posted on 12/10/2004 2:02:51 PM PST by skeptoid
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To: Williams

No you are not the only one offended by that comment.


14 posted on 12/10/2004 3:29:07 PM PST by Ditter
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To: 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub

Coast Guard Bump


15 posted on 12/10/2004 6:51:30 PM PST by Species8472
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To: Species8472

Coast Guard chopper crashes
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1297558/posts


16 posted on 12/10/2004 7:50:47 PM PST by 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub (SEMPER PARATUS)
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