Salvage crews raised a sunken fishing boat from the bottom of the sea near San Juan Island Saturday, but they have been unable to remove enough fuel and seawater from the vessel to lift it onto a barge and transport it away from the critical orca habitat where it sank 5 weeks ago. The F/V Aleutian Isle, a 58-foot salmon fishing boat, released a 2-mile sheen of diesel onto the surface of Haro Strait when it sank. The unusual effort to lift it 240 feet from the sea floor was launched after officials decided pumping up to 2,600 gallons of diesel and oil still on board to the surface was not feasible at that depth in the swirling currents of Haro Strait. Photos, >click to read< 08:21
Tag Archives: Port of Anacortes
F/V Aleutian Isle: Fishing vessel lifted out of orca waters after 5 weeks on sea floor
A salvage team successfully lifted the F/V Aleutian Isle onto a barge Wednesday afternoon, more than five weeks after the fishing boat sank into the depths off San Juan Island. Coast Guard officials say some diesel spilled from the boat as a crane lifted it out of the water. They reported “light sheening” on the surface of Haro Strait near San Juan Island’s Mitchell Bay. The salvage team had to pump out all the seawater from the waterlogged 
vessel to make it light enough to lift out of the sea without breaking apart. Now they plan to remove remaining diesel from the boat before transporting it to a shipyard. The boat sank while fishing for sockeye salmon in critical habit for the Northwest’s endangered orcas. All five crew members escaped onto a small skiff, with no injuries reported. Photos, >click to read< 21:06
F/V Aleutian Isle Successfully Raised
The Aleutian Isle, the fishing vessel that sank on August 13 near Sunset Point on the west side of San Juan Island, has been raised to the surface. It had been 200 feet deep. Crews are currently dewatering the vessel. They successfully removed 250 gallons of waste oil and are trying to remove any diesel fuel remaining onboard. 5 Photos, >click to read< 14:12
F/V Aleutian Isle ready to resurface Saturday after 5 weeks on sea floor
Coast Guard officials say a salvage team is ready to lift the Aleutian Isle off the sea floor near San Juan Island on Saturday. The commercial fishing boat sank nearly five weeks ago while participating in a tribal fishery for sockeye salmon. It left a sheen of diesel fuel two miles long in prime habitat for the region’s endangered orcas. Emergency officials say divers have plugged up the boat’s fuel tanks, but they expect some pockets of diesel will escape as a floating crane hauls the boat more than 200 feet to the surface. >click to read< 07:30
Your questions answered about sinking of FV Aleutian Isle; what we know so far
What is the current situation with the wreck? The sunken vessel remains in place on the West side of San Juan Island in over 200 feet of water. The boat is resting on its side, perched bow facing uphill on a slope that runs steeply down into the deepest waters of Haro Strait. Divers have secured the fuel tank vents, however occasional small and rapidly dissipating sheens have been observed over the site of the wreck, which indicates that pockets of fuel have likely collected within the hull of the vessel. Why is it taking so long, when will this be over? >click to read< 07:37
F/V Aleutian Isle: Diesel oil from sunken vessel is ‘nonrecoverable’
More than 200 feet below the surface of Haro Strait, a major shipway for British Columbia, a fishing vessel has settled on the sea floor near Sunset Point off the west coast of San Juan Island. The 49-foot purse seiner F/V Aleutian Isle began sinking on Aug. 13, sending waves of a glossy diesel sheen two miles north of the sink. What was initially a search-and-rescue response quickly turned into minimizing the environmental impact. Initial reports of the sinking said there were about 2.500 gallons of diesel on board the Aleutian Isle. This diesel, and the sheen it creates, poses a unique issue for agencies tasked with its maintenance and cleanup. Photos, >click to read< 21:22
Port of Anacortes’ T Dock sees more than $14 million in annual commercial activity
Port commissioners voted earlier this year to replace T Dock with a new, upgraded dock, about twice the size and with a cost estimate of more than $7 million. With supply chain issues and rising costs of both supplies and construction, that number will likely go up, Port Executive Director Dan Worra said. The dock doesn’t bring in much money for the Port of Anacortes itself, but helps its tenants create money in their businesses. It also creates and supports jobs in this region, which is important to the port, he said. About $14 million in commercial activity happens through the T Dock each year. About $10 million of that comes from commercial fishing revenue, and $4 million comes through commercial maritime revenue, according to the report. >click to read< 10:29
F/V Aleutian Isle: Fishing boat that sank off San Juan Island had apparently run aground the previous day
The U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies have declined to say why the boat sank, or even what it was doing before it went down, citing the ongoing investigation of the maritime disaster. The sinking sent a two-mile sheen of diesel fuel into prime habitat for the region’s endangered orcas. Nearly three weeks later, the boat still sits 240 feet underwater, an ongoing risk for leaking more diesel into Haro Strait. But eyewitness accounts, photographs, and public records fill in some of the information gaps. Eyewitness Brit Reese, of Sedro-Woolley, was shooting pictures near the marina entrance while waiting for a friend whose boat was anchored just outside. Photos, >click to read< 09:12
