A Cook Inlet tug collided with a barge it was towing from a Nikiski dock on Wednesday morning, tearing an opening in the barge that leaked an unknown amount of unleaded gasoline into the inlet, the Coast Guard said.

The 113-foot Pacific Challenger tug and the 262-foot barge crashed into each other at about 1:30 a.m. in choppy seas while the tug was untying from the barge, according to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.

The collision created a crack about 4 to 6 inches long in a tank carrying roughly 70,000 gallons of gasoline, according to Steve Russell, a DEC spill division specialist.

Russell said the crew could see gas leaking into the water 2 to 3 feet above the water line.

Within about 20 minutes, the crew transferred the gas into an undamaged tank and sealed the crack, said Darrell Wilson, a spokesman for New Jersey-based K-Sea Transportation, which owns the tug and the barge.

"It wasn't a massive gaping hole, which we were thankful for," Wilson said.

The crack was sealed with epoxy, state officials said.

A Coast Guard flight to the spill area, about a mile off Nikiski, late Wednesday morning did not turn up any evidence of gasoline in the water; the spilled gasoline -- which evaporates quickly -- has been deemed unrecoverable and not a significant concern to the environment, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Sara Francis.

The tug and barge headed to Homer where they will undergo a detailed accident investigation by the Coast Guard and the state, Russell said. K-Sea said it also plans an investigation.

The vessels were expected to arrive in Homer on Wednesday night. Actual measurements at the Homer dock will determine the size of the spill, the Coast Guard said.

The barge was traveling to several different Southcentral ports to deliver fuel when the collision occurred, K-Sea said.

Find Elizabeth Bluemink online at adn.com/contact/ebluemink or call 257-4317.

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