The Coast Guard reported Saturday that a fishing tender, the Homer-based 104-foot Naknek Spirit, ran aground and ruptured a fuel tank, spilling diesel fuel into Prince William Sound.
The five-member crew reported that the ruptured tank had contained 2,000 gallons of fuel, but they said they were able to transfer about 1,500 gallons to an intact tank before it could leak into the Sound.
No injuries were reported and the ship was able to refloat at high tide and limp to Whittier under its own power, said Petty Officer 1st Class Shawn Eggert, a Coast Guard spokesman in Anchorage. The spill was contained in boom and a response vessel was working to clean it up, he said.
The grounding happened in Passage Canal, six miles east of Whittier in sensitive habitat for Steller sea lions.
Anchorage Daily News