Posted on Sep 3, 2022
Fishing boat that sank in orca habitat ran into trouble 24 hours earlier
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The fishing boat that sank off San Juan Island in August had run into trouble – apparently running 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.
The boat, called the Aleutian Isle, was exiting the Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes on Friday, Aug. 12, the day before it sank, when it appeared to run aground.
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.
The boat, called the Aleutian Isle, was exiting the Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes on Friday, Aug. 12, the day before it sank, when it appeared to run aground.
Fishing boat that sank in orca habitat ran into trouble 24 hours earlier
Posted from kuow.org
Coast Guard
Anacortes
Investigation
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 2
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel wow, I have been up that way, beautiful scenery Brother William, sad to hear about the fishing boat sinking.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."We don't fully understand why the burps are happening,” emergency manager Brendan Cowan told the San Juan County Council on Aug. 19.
Dive teams hope to bring the Aleutian Isle to the surface before it burps any more diesel or other pollutants. It’s no small task, especially with the dangerous waters of Haro Strait limiting divers to about 40 minutes of underwater work each day.
“We're dealing with one of the most complex environments to do dive operations anywhere, right?” Cowan said. “We've got cold water, strong currents. It's deep. There's just a lot of reasons why it's very complicated.”
..."We don't fully understand why the burps are happening,” emergency manager Brendan Cowan told the San Juan County Council on Aug. 19.
Dive teams hope to bring the Aleutian Isle to the surface before it burps any more diesel or other pollutants. It’s no small task, especially with the dangerous waters of Haro Strait limiting divers to about 40 minutes of underwater work each day.
“We're dealing with one of the most complex environments to do dive operations anywhere, right?” Cowan said. “We've got cold water, strong currents. It's deep. There's just a lot of reasons why it's very complicated.”
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