Twenty years after Exxon Valdez, a tugboat has run aground on the same reef – with a potential spill of 33,500 gallons of diesel.Coast Guard personnel from Marine Safety Unit Valdez, Sector Anchorage and Cutter Long Island are responding to a 136-foot Crowley tug grounding on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound Thursday.The Pathfinder crew had completed an ice survey and was heading back to its port in Valdez when the vessel struck the reef Wednesday evening.Vessel Traffic System Prince William Sound personnel received a radio call at 6:15 p.m. from Pathfinder's master via VHF radio reporting the grounding.
The Pathfinder cleared the reef and proceeded to deeper waters at about 6:50 p.m. Anchoring just south of Busby Island, the tug's six crew members reportedly deployed 200-feet of fuel containment booms around the vessel.
Two of the tug's centreline diesel fuel tanks were reported breached with a potential spill of 33,500 gallons. The total capacity of the vessel is approximately 127,700 gallons of diesel fuel. None of the crew members were reported injured.
The tugboat Invader and oil recovery boat Valdez Star are en-route to the location of the grounding to offer any possible assistance.
Two divers were transported by the landing signal craft Alaska Challenge. Divers conducted an underwater survey of the Pathfinder's hull at approximately 2:30 a.m. but have not provided a report yet.
