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 ...
BUSH'S FAULT!!!!
/librat
Didn't we build a pipeline at considerable cost during the Carter era?
Yes, we did, and the oil has to go somewhere. In this case into a tanker.
This was not an oil tanker, It was full of soybeans. The fuel spill is heavy bunker fuel oil that powers the ship.
Oh - still a valid question.
I assume this was not a double hull tanker.
The pipeline is still active, It supplies about 15% of the USA's domestic crude.
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.
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.
I am flogging myself even as we speak.
LOL! I think they would make it about 15 minutes in this weather!
Go here for photos:
http://www.adn.com/photos/selendang/index.html
Good pics.
No you are not the only one offended by that comment.
Coast Guard Bump
Coast Guard chopper crashes
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1297558/posts
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.