Helicopters arrive at the disabled and listing Cougar Ace. Officials have said the roll occurred during ballast operations. The keel visible out of the water indicates the ship may have been light at the time of the mishap.
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WINDS: Salvage tugs head for Cougar Ace as it is blown into U.S. waters.
Published: July 29, 2006
Last Modified: July 30, 2006 at 01:11 AM
A disabled, crewless ship loaded with nearly 5,000 autos has crossed into U.S. waters, drifting Friday toward Alaska's Aleutian chain.
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The Cougar Ace was still listing on its side as it floated in choppy seas about 130 miles south of Atka Island, the Coast Guard said. The 654-foot car carrier had zigzagged more than 120 miles since it tilted sharply Sunday night, its crew rescued 24 hours later, said Petty Officer Richard Reichenbach.
The Coast Guard cutter Rush was tracking the ship as it slowly moved northeast.
"There's always concern, but we do have an asset on scene," Coast Guard Lt. Heather Neely said. "We're doing all we can, and it's not drifting very fast."
The ship's owner, Tokyo-based Mitsui OSK Lines, sent out a tug Friday morning with a salvage engineer and equipment on board from Dutch Harbor on Unalaska Island about 400 miles away, as well as a tug from the closer island of Adak. The goal is to secure the vessel's cargo of mostly Mazda vehicles as soon as possible, said company spokesman Greg Beuerman. The cars are stacked 14 stories high in the ship, which rises 155 feet from its hull to its radio antennas.
A salvage tow from Seattle is expected to reach the Cougar Ace no earlier than Wednesday. The tugs dispatched Friday are expected to arrive today, along with the Coast Guard cutter Morgenthau, which will relieve the Rush.
The engineer en route Friday will work on a plan to regain stability of the ship for towing it to a yet undetermined port, Beuerman said.
The Singapore-flagged ship began listing Sunday night in international waters about 230 miles south of Adak Island.
The Cougar Ace likely had discharged too much water from ballast tanks at the bottom of the vessel, causing it to list suddenly in the space of 10 minutes, according to Beuerman. He said company officials believe the ship rolled on the swell of the sea while the crew was adjusting a ballast tank, which regulates the ship's weight and stability.
The 23 crew members were hoisted to safety Monday night, many bruised and cut up from the abrupt tilting of the ship. The worst injury was a broken ankle.
"(Mitsui) officials deeply regret this situation and apologize for any inconvenience this incident has caused to all parties concerned," the company said in a prepared statement. "Company officials wish to reiterate their gratitude to the United States Coast Guard and Alaska Air National Guard for their efforts to bring crew members safely to shore and their ongoing efforts to monitor the vessel."
Still unknown is the fate of the cargo -- mostly Mazda vehicles -- secured in compartments with heavy chains inside the vessel, which had been drifting east until shifting afternoon winds began pushing it toward land late Wednesday.
The crew of the cutter Morgenthau might try to attach a line to the Cougar Ace today to slow its drift, Reichenbach said. The Honolulu-based cutter, however, is not equipped to tow the ship.
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation was closely monitoring developments, fearing a repeat of the December 2004 grounding of the Selendang Ayu. The Malaysia-flagged freighter was carrying about 66,000 tons of soybeans to China when it lost power in the Aleutians, drifting for two days before it split in two after grounding off Unalaska Island. The cargo of soybeans and about 335,000 gallons of fuel oil spilled from the ship.
Six crew members died when a Coast Guard helicopter crashed during a rescue attempt.
Last month, workers finally completed the cleanup and removal at the wreckage site.
"It's still fresh in our minds," said DEC response official Leslie Pearson. "Some of us haven't quite recuperated yet."
A coalition of environmental, Native and commercial fishing organizations issued a statement Friday saying the Cougar Ace's plight underscores the need to station bigger, more powerful tugs in the Aleutians. Ships make more than 3,000 trips through the area each year.
"This is exactly the sort of scenario that we're going to keep seeing unless we reform shipping safety in U.S. waters," said Whit Sheard, a member of the Shipping Safety Partnership and Alaska director for Pacific Environment. The coalition formed after the Selendang Ayu grounding.
The Cougar Ace was carrying 430 metric tons of fuel oil and 112 metric tons of diesel fuel. The Rush crew reported a light oily sheen around the ship, but officials don't believe its fuel tanks are leaking.
Daily New reporter Don Hunter contributed to this story.
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