Cruise Ship Rams Rock in Alaskan Bay
Coast Guard officials on Thursday were trying to figure out how to unload 28,000 gallons of diesel fuel from a listing cruise ship after it rammed a large rock in Glacier Bay National Park.
Officials hoped to unload most of the fuel to a Coast Guard cutter to lessen the threat of any additional spills. A boom was placed around the ship, but no fuel was seen leaking, said Lt. Ray Massey Jr.
The 254-foot Yorktown Clipper leaked an undetermined amount of fuel Wednesday after it struck Geikie Rock, located about halfway into the huge bay 45 miles west of Juneau.
The vessel’s 134 passengers were safely evacuated within hours to the cruise ship Westerdam, which arrived Thursday morning in Sitka, Alaska. After the frightening ordeal, some passengers took early flights home without even waiting for the cruise line to retrieve their luggage from the Yorktown Clipper.
Coast Guard damage-control experts and 16 of the Yorktown Clipper’s 42 crew members worked to keep the anchored ship afloat.
The Coast Guard had 13 pumps on board to keep up with the flooding while repairs were made. Divers found a hole in the forward part of the hull, and additional damage along an 80-foot section of the keel, Massey said.
Officials said the fuel leak had largely dissipated. There were no cleanup plans and no evidence that wildlife had been affected.
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