The crew of the Golden Seas, a tanker vessel, reported to the Coast Guard Friday around 4 a.m. that an engine turbo charge failure had rendered the ship adrift in the south Bering Sea with limited power and steering.
The Golden Seas was adrift about 70 miles north of Adak Island drifting southeast toward Atka Island in the Aleutian Islands off the coast of mainland Alaska when the emergency call was sent.
The tug vessel Tor Viking II was dispatched to rescue the Golden Seas by using an emergency towing system (ETS), which will tow the vessel to Dutch Harbor in Unalaska, Alaska, also in the Aleutian Islands northeast of Atka and Adak.
Later Friday the crew of the Golden Seas reported that weather had diminished enough for them to use the limited power they had to successfully maneuver away from Atka Island, which they were drifting toward.
A Coast Guard aircrew flying in an HC-130 Hercules quickly located the Golden Seas moving at approximately 3 mph in 20-foot seas with 46 mph winds north of Adak on Friday. The Hercules aircrew stayed with the Golden Seas reporting the situation from the air. Two Jayhawk helicopters sat ready at Air Station Kodiak in Dutch Harbor ready to save the crew of the Golden Seas in the event that the situation deteriorated and the crew was in peril.
Undesirable weather had made the dangerous situation even more worrisome during the first hours of the emergency. By the time the Hercules had punched through cloud cover at 20,000 feet above the Golden Seas, the vessel had drifted 15 miles from its original position. But the ship had regained limited propulsion of 3.5 mph by the time the Hercules made contact with the ship’s captain.
The Hercules crew dropped a self-locating data buoy to collect data regarding temperature and current drift of the Golden Seas. The aircrew also brought along an ETS, which was designated to be airdropped to the Golden Seas. However, it is unclear if the ETS used to tow the ship was provided by the Hercules or Tor Viking II.
Tor Viking II rendezvoused with the Golden Seas at approximately 5:30 p.m. (Alaska time) Saturday and began towing the Golden Seas toward Dutch Harbor at approximately 8:30 p.m.
The Golden Seas rests 738 feet long and is carrying 450,000 gallons of crude oil, 11,700 gallons of diesel, 10,000 gallons of lube oil, and an undisclosed amount of rapeseed used to make canola oil.
The Golden Seas was adrift about 70 miles north of Adak Island drifting southeast toward Atka Island in the Aleutian Islands off the coast of mainland Alaska when the emergency call was sent.
The tug vessel Tor Viking II was dispatched to rescue the Golden Seas by using an emergency towing system (ETS), which will tow the vessel to Dutch Harbor in Unalaska, Alaska, also in the Aleutian Islands northeast of Atka and Adak.
Later Friday the crew of the Golden Seas reported that weather had diminished enough for them to use the limited power they had to successfully maneuver away from Atka Island, which they were drifting toward.
A Coast Guard aircrew flying in an HC-130 Hercules quickly located the Golden Seas moving at approximately 3 mph in 20-foot seas with 46 mph winds north of Adak on Friday. The Hercules aircrew stayed with the Golden Seas reporting the situation from the air. Two Jayhawk helicopters sat ready at Air Station Kodiak in Dutch Harbor ready to save the crew of the Golden Seas in the event that the situation deteriorated and the crew was in peril.
Undesirable weather had made the dangerous situation even more worrisome during the first hours of the emergency. By the time the Hercules had punched through cloud cover at 20,000 feet above the Golden Seas, the vessel had drifted 15 miles from its original position. But the ship had regained limited propulsion of 3.5 mph by the time the Hercules made contact with the ship’s captain.
The Hercules crew dropped a self-locating data buoy to collect data regarding temperature and current drift of the Golden Seas. The aircrew also brought along an ETS, which was designated to be airdropped to the Golden Seas. However, it is unclear if the ETS used to tow the ship was provided by the Hercules or Tor Viking II.
Tor Viking II rendezvoused with the Golden Seas at approximately 5:30 p.m. (Alaska time) Saturday and began towing the Golden Seas toward Dutch Harbor at approximately 8:30 p.m.
The Golden Seas rests 738 feet long and is carrying 450,000 gallons of crude oil, 11,700 gallons of diesel, 10,000 gallons of lube oil, and an undisclosed amount of rapeseed used to make canola oil.
