On January 8, Alaskan authorities reported an oil spill was spotted near the grounded fishing vessel Arctic Sea. The 41 meter long, 485 gt fishing vessel Arctic Sea (IMO: 7819216) had run aground in the Bering Sea off St. George Island, Alaska on January 5. All 9 crew would be rescued by a Coast guard helicopter leaving the fishing vessel stranded along the shoreline.
Alaskan Environmental authorities reported the spill is most likely from the 50,000 gallons of diesel fuel on board the fishing vessel. The Arctic Sea also was carrying 2,000 gallons of lube oil and hydraulic fluid. While authorities can see an oil slick in the water, there is no estimate of how much oil pollution has been released. With sea lion and seals rookeries just being 2 miles west of the spill, there is concern the pollution could have a major environmental impact.
In the fishing vessel’s hold there is some 11,000 pounds of tanner crab which can release toxins and bacteria that can poison the water and kill nearby crab in the area.
Authorities are also concern of a lesser known risk. St. George Island is a rat free island and there is concern that if the Arctic Sea had any rodents at the time of the incident, they may reach the shore alive. Rats would have a major impact of ground-nesting birds and other wildlife in the area. Governmental and local communities have spent many years and resources to clear islands of rodents. When a Japanese vessel wrecked on Hawadax Island, Alaska in 1780, it would take another 229 years before the rodents would be removed from the island.
Reports state that Resolve Marine has been contracted for salvage operations. The common practice is to remove the fuel and oil off the vessel to mitigate pollution risks, but bad weather may prevent any salvage for several months.
