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
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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
