Posted on 01/14/2012 9:13:18 AM PST by Brilliant
The ice-bound town of Nome will likely get its emergency fuel supply this weekend from a Russian tanker that has taken three weeks to get there, as Alaska continues to be battered by one of the state's harshest winters in decades.
The tanker Renda arrived just offshore from Nome on Friday with its cargo of fuel for the town, which was cut off from oceangoing supplies by waters that froze earlier than expected.
The Russian-flagged tanker vessel Renda followed a trail cut through the ice by the Coast Guard Cutter Healy in the Bering Sea Thursday as it headed to Nome with emergency fuel supplies.
By early morning Friday, lights from the tanker and a Coast Guard cutter escort were visible from the community of 3,600 in western Alaska, promising relief for residents whose fuel reserves were expected to run out by March.
The Renda was originally going to arrive five days earlier, but thick ice delayed its progress. The tanker won't be able to approach closer than about a mile from shore because of an iced-in harbor, local officials said, so it will transfer 1.4 million gallons of diesel fuel and gasoline by hose to a tank facility. That task was expected to begin Saturday and take as long as three days, amid Arctic temperatures that on Friday stood at minus-31 degrees...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
When it’s Springtime in Alaska, it’s 40 below (per Mr. Johnny Horton).
Great, great aunt and uncle had gold mines in Nome during the gold rush days. My grandmother had wonderful tales to tell of her youth spent in Nome while visiting. Someday maybe I will get there. Not this winter though. :)
Great, great aunt and uncle had gold mines in Nome during the gold rush days. My grandmother had wonderful tales to tell of her youth spent in Nome while visiting. Someday maybe I will get there. Not this winter though. :)
I might sound stupid but I have to ask. Seeing as how there is an Alaska pipeline for oil, how is it that they have to ship fuel in?
The Current FReepathon Pays For The Current Quarters Expenses?
I don’t think they have any refineries in Nome. I’m not sure they have any in Alaska. The crude cannot be burned directly, so it has to be processed in a refinery. The pipeline South carries crude.
How ironic. Sitting on top of tons of fuel and freezing waiting for delivery. They should remedy that.
The pipeline runs roughly north/south from the north slope to Valdez.
Nome is about 400+ miles west of the pipeline. We haven’t built and east/west pipeline yet.
Unfortunately, "they" (EPA, watermelon jihad) wouldn't let us if we tried.
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.