Alaska Cruise Ship That Ran Aground Is Refloated, Towed to Safe Anchorage
A cruise ship that ran aground was refloated on the rising tide and towed to a protected cove Saturday, a day after its 143 passengers were evacuated by boat and then flown to the mainland.
No one was injured when the 307-foot North Star ran aground Friday on rocks near Prince of Wales Island and began taking on water through two holes in the hull. Authorities had not determined why the ship grounded.
Some of the ship’s 60 crew members stayed aboard and patched the two holes, Coast Guard Lt. Fulton Gregg said in Juneau.
The tide refloated the North Star during the night and the ship was towed to an anchorage about 200 yards off this Prince of Wales Island community, Gregg said.
“They’re pumping 900 to 1,000 gallons of water per minute out of the engine room with several pumps they’ve got going, so they’re lowering the water level in the engine room,” Gregg said. “The repairs evidently are holding, and things are looking pretty good.”
“I think it’s going to sit there for a while,” said Coast Guard spokesman Glenn Rosenholm. The crew will finish pumping out the ship and patching the holes, then the North Star probably will be towed to a larger port.
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