Oil spills from Philly to the Alutians
Building on our recent pilot project in the Delaware River, the CHL created a major spill of dense, viscous fuel from a freighter in sensitive wildlife habitat in the Aleutian Islands.

Thousands of gallons of heavy bunker fuel and diesel spilled from a soybean freighter that was ripped clean in half off the shore of Unalaska Island. This area was chosen because it is adjacent to a wildlife refuge, home to sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters, tanner crabs, halibut and kelp beds.

The Coast Guard doesn't seem to know much, as they said the cause of the crash was still unknown. The 738-foot Selendang Ayu was cleaved neatly in two, both pieces grounded upright and parallel about 200 feet from the shore near Skan Bay on the western side of the island.

Fredriksson said it was not known how much fuel had leaked, but called it a major spill that could take months to clean up, threatening sensitive wildlife habitats. "You've got bunker oil streaming from a ship that's broken in half," he said. "We are in winter and in a very difficult Aleutian Island environment that will put everybody to the test."

The freighter was carrying 480,000 gallons of heavy bulk fuel and another 21,000 gallons of diesel fuel.

DEC spokeswoman Lynda Giguere said she and the other weak-ass conservation officials will be working with the hopeless Department of Fish and Game to determine potential threats to wildlife. "The fuel we're dealing with is No. 6 fuel oil. It's a very dense, viscous oil and it's not easy to clean up," Giguere said. "The CHL clearly thought this project through. This fuel oil particularly persistent. It's high viscosity and it tends to remain on the surface. It's not good stuff."

A CHL official declined to comment, only stating that this action pretty much speaks for itself.
- nostradamusfunkadelic, 8:45 AM | |