Unalaska, AK – A vessel collision occurred between two large fishing vessels in Captains Bay early Tuesday morning.
The Alaska Spirit and the Kodiak Enterprise collided shortly after midnight. The Alaska Spirit had been moving away from a tramper after offloading, and the Kodiak Enterprise had left the OSI dock and was heading out fishing at the time of the accident. The Alaska Spirit, a 221-foot vessel that's part of the Fishing Company of Alaska, sustained damage to its bow. The Trident-owned Kodiak Enterprise is also in need of repairs. The starboard quarter and way of the gantry of the 262-foot vessel was struck and suffered substantial damage.
Unalaska, AK – About a dozen crewmen and contractors are working to clean up an 800-gallon fuel spill that occurred in Unalaska yesterday.
The F/V Aleutian Lady was moored in Captains Bay when the spill occurred. According to Coast Guard Petty Officer First Class Jason Munoz, the the crew was attempting to transfer 1,500 gallons of diesel fuel from the port-side tank to the starboard side when a vent on the receiving tank started to overflow. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation estimates that about 800 gallons of that fuel went into the bay.
Unalaska, AK – The National Marine Mammal Laboratory has released the results of its most recent Northern fur seal pup count in the Pribilofs, and the survey shows that pup production continues to decline in the region.
Approximately 94,000 pups were born in St. Paul this year, and nearly 18,000 were born in St. George. Pup production has declined 7.6% since 2008, when the survey was last completed.
Unalaska, AK – A 40-year-old man was medevaced from the pollock mothership Golden Alaska to Cold Bay after reportedly experiencing chest pains.
Nery Arriaza was lifted from the 305-foot processor fishing vessel yesterday by a Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew. The Golden Alaska was approximately 46 miles north of Cold Bay when Arriaza first started feeling chest pains. The captain of the vessel contacted the Coast Guard about the situation at 9:12 am, and a helicopter that had been forward-deployed to the Coast Guard cutter Morgenthau arrived about three hours later. Arriaza was taken to Cold Bay, and then to Anchorage for further medical care.
Unalaska, AK – It has been five days since the Coast Guard and the State of Alaska have been able to assess the state of the grounded F/V TerriGail.
The 58-foot longliner went aground near Makushin Bay on Tuesday, and the last Coast Guard helicopter flyover took place on Wednesday. Multiple flyovers have been scheduled to determine the environmental impact of the wreck, but poor weather has prevented any helicopters from taking off. Coast Guard Petty Officer David Mosley says that they are working to get out to the vessel as soon as possible, but that there are certain constraints that are making it difficult to do assessments.
Unalaska, AK – In testimony to Congress, retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen stressed that the lack of functioning icebreakers in Alaska would make it difficult to respond to an oil spill in the Arctic.
Allen spoke to a House Transportation subcommittee on Friday about the Deepwater Horizon blowout, and he brought up concerns about the state of the Coast Guard fleet as it relates to rescue and response in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. Allen noted that two of the Coast Guard's three icebreakers are currently out of commission. The Polar Star and the Polar Sea are currently being refitted in Seattle. The only fully functional icebreaker is the Healy, a cutter primarily used for research voyages. A new icebreaker would cost upward of $750 million.
Unalaska, AK – This weekend, the Unalaska Raiders boys basketball team won the sportsmanship award in the Dean Cummings Basketball tournament at Delta Junction.
The boys put up a good fight, with their toughest game coming on Thursday against Dillingham. That match went into triple overtime, with the Dillingham Warriors finally coming out ahead 56-52. Andrew Seman was a top scorer with 25 points. On Friday, the boys lost to Galena, 69-51. But on Saturday, the Raiders came out ahead against the Cook Inlet Academy, winning 57-47. Seman again scored 25 points, while JJ Fernandez delivered 11. Seman was ultimately named to the all-tournament team.
Unalaska, AK – Most decisions that affect Alaska's fisheries are made thousands of miles away in the nation's capital. KUCB's Alexandra Gutierrez recently sat down with the Alaska delegation's point people on fisheries policy to find out what their top priorities for fisheries policy.
Unalaska, AK – The Coast Guard and the State of Alaska are still working to determine whether any environmental damage has been caused by the wreck of the F/V TerriGail.
On Tuesday, the 58-foot longliner went aground in Alimuda Bay - just southwest of Makushin Bay - and the Coast Guard has not been able to conduct any helicopter flyovers since Wednesday. A flyover was scheduled for today, but was canceled due to poor weather. Coast Guard Petty Officer David Mosley says that they're working to get out to the vessel as soon as possible.
