Alaskans pull together to minimize an environmental disaster off the Aleutian Chain: unfortunately, lives were lost, but organizations are working hard to save the environment.

• Author: Dawson, Paula
• Position: Alaska Business Monthly's 2005 Environmental Issue

On Dec. 7, 2004, at approximately 4 a.m., the U. S. Coast Guard was notified of a 738-foot Malaysian bulk carrier adrift off of the Aleutian Chain near Bogoslof Island. The Selendang Ayu was laden with 60,000 tons of soybeans, and carrying 440,000 gallons of bunker fuel and 18,000 gallons of diesel oil. Crewmembers of the Selendang Ayu were feverishly attempting to restart its engines that had stalled a day earlier as the enormous ship drifted helplessly into the Bering Sea after passing through the Unimak Pass.

Several ships were dispatched to assist the Selendang Ayu--the Coast Guard's 238-foot cutter, the Alex Haley; Foss Maritime's 126-foot, 3,000-horsepower tug, the Sydney Foss; and Magone Marine's 1,500-horsepower salvage tug, the Redeemer. The 94-foot, 4,000-horsepower Z-drive harbor tug, the James Dunlap, stood by on scene to assist as necessary. The Sydney Foss was able to get an 8-inch line on the distressed ship, slowing the drift to less than 1 knot. The towline eventually snapped under the stress of 20-foot to 30-foot waves; however the valuable daylight hours allowed for the rescue of most of the crew off the sinking ship.

DISASTER STRIKES

The Coast Guard sent out rescue teams to lift the crewmembers off the Selendang Ayu. In freezing wind and unpredictable seas, they were able to safely lift 18 people from the ship. It was during the last rescue attempt, less than 30 minutes after the ship ran hard aground, that the Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter crashed into the sea. A second helicopter crew was able to save the first aircrew and one Selendang Ayu seaman-six others were not found. Within an hour, the Selendang Ayu broke in half, spilling out the first 40,000 gallons of bunker fuel into the Bering Sea.

Gallagher, a ship service company based in New Jersey, held the ship support contract for the Selendang Ayu and had a long working relationship with Alaska logistics specialist Pacific Rim Logistics (PRL). Immediately upon hearing of the distressed ship, PR, an emergency response contractor for Gallagher, jumped into action putting in place the Incident Command System in Dutch Harbor as directed by Gallagher and the Unified Command Team.

Key members of the Incident Command Team were dispatched to Dutch Harbor the moment the Coast Guard was notified the tanker was in trouble. Ron Hyde, president/CEO of Pacific Rim Logistics, was appointed incident commander and gathered a team of individuals with diverse backgrounds, capable of...