Unalaska, AK – Work on righting the Cougar Ace is almost completed in Dutch Harbor. The 654-foot car carrier is currently sitting at about a 12-degree angle, compared to the 60-degree list the ship had when it was towed into the harbor on August 8.
A crew from Titan Maritime spent most of Sunday pumping water into the vessel's ballast tanks in an effort to bring it to an even keel.
Dan Magone, owner of the project's salvage subcontractor, Magone Marine Service, said that the ship should be fully upright by the end of today, at which point the owner, Tokyo-based Mitsui O.S.K., will decide what to do with it. Mitsui's American spokesman Greg Beuerman said that company is holding off on a decision pending a full survey of the ship.
Unalaska, AK – KIAL's Michael Edenfield reports from the annual event, and tells us how to prepare salmon using traditional local methods. (This story first aired on APRN's "AK" program on August 12.)
Unalaska, AK – The Aleutian Life Forum kicked off Thursday night with an invocation in the Unangan language and a performance of traditional Unangan dance. The event is a symposium on cultural and environmental topics specific to the Aleutian Islands, held annually in Unalaska. It draws together state and federal environmental regulators, academics and representatives of Unangan tribes from throughout the region. Conference chairman Reid Brewer is also the local agent for the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program. He says the main purpose of this year's forum is to put in place a coastal observation system that communities throughout the region can use.
Unalaska, AK – On-scene personnel say the Cougar Ace car carrier could be righted by the end of this coming weekend.
Work is continuing on the 654-foot ship, which is moored in Wide Bay, near the mouth of the Dutch Harbor. As of Friday afternoon, salvage crews were making good progress on their first order of business, dewatering the one partially flooded car deck. After that, they'll start filling the ship's ballast tanks, which should eventually bring it upright. The ship is still listing at close to 60 degrees.
Unalaska, AK – The art of Rie Munoz is known to many people both inside and outside of Alaska, through her paintings, her children's book illustrations and the gallery she operates in Juneau. She's spent the last month in Unalaska, collecting material for her work. Munoz spoke with KIAL about what's inspired her in the Aleutians.
Unalaska, AK – Representatives of the Coast Guard and a salvage company fielded questions from the community of Unalaska Tuesday night about what's going to happen now that the Cougar Ace car carrier is moored in Dutch Harbor.
A salvage crew began pumping water out of the car carrier in Dutch Harbor Wednesday morning. The listing vessel was brought into the harbor Tuesday afternoon after being towed for eight days from the location where it initially turned on its side, in the North Pacific south of Adak Island.
North Pacific Ocean – A car carrier that ran into problems in the North Pacific on July 23 is moving again. A tugboat began towing the vessel north Monday night. KIAL's Charles Homans has the story on board the Coast Guard cutter Morgenthau, in the North Pacific.
