A fishing vessel that sunk in Women’s Bay, Kodiak in 1989 was spotted leaking fuel on August 5. The spill was discovered when members of the public saw the sheen and reported to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation on August 3.
Jade Gamble, Cook Inlet and Kodiak Unit Manager for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation:
“On the fifth of August, we had Fish and Game do a flyover and they observed a fairly large sheen which appeared like it was coming from something at the bottom of the ocean. Under further research, we found that it was coming from a vessel that sank in 1989 called the St. Patrick. That vessel has been there in Women’s Bay since 1989. Recently, here, it just started leaking from some of the rivets rusting out. We’ve started, the coast guard has hired Global Diving and Paradigm Marine and Chadux Alaska to provide resources to mitigate the spills. We have been able to reduce the amount of diesel leaking out of the vessel. We’ve also put boom out to collect any sheen that is coming to the surface. Right now, we’re looking at sonar scans to identify where the tanks are, how much fluid we might have and how do we access those areas. Right now, we’re really collecting information and trying to make good decisions so that when we go into remove additional product from the vessel, we don’t cause a catastrophic release or cause some other kind of issue.”
(PHOTO PROVIDED BY ETRAC – SCREEN GRAM FROM AUGUST 15, 2021 3D SONAR)
Gamble also said:
“Approximately, a little over 4,000 gallons of diesel and 2,400 gallons of the oily water mix. We’ve removed a total of 6,600 gallons of fluid that’s in the hull. We still have not accessed the tanks. There could be additional product in there. Right now, we’re in that investigation mode and doing what we can to slow that leak and minimize any effects to the environment.”
Gamble said that recent earthquakes could have been a culprit as the oil started releasing after the most recent earthquake, but she says it’s difficult to know for sure. Gamble said there have been several earthquakes as of recent and that could have led to a cumulative effect.
Source control has not been fully achieved and dive crews started defueling the vessel on August 16.