Oil-filled tanker runs aground in Alaska

An oil tanker carrying 4.9 million gallons of refinery fuels broke loose from an Alaska loading dock Thursday morning, drifted a half-mile and ran aground on a beach in the state's ice-clogged Cook Inlet.

There were no reports of leaks from the Seabulk Pride's double-hulled tanks. But some fuel — less than 100 gallons — spilled into Cook Inlet when the mishap first occurred in Nikiski, a south-central Alaska port on the Kenai Peninsula.

The potential of a major oil spill has spurred a joint response of federal, state and industry officials, who have set up an incident command post that is bringing in tugboats, barges and other equipment.

Tesoro Alaska, the oil company that chartered the vessel for a delivery to a Puget Sound terminal, plans to use tugs to try to refloat the vessel during a high tide. One early attempt Thursday was unsuccessful; a second try Thursday evening was canceled because of safety concerns.

"Our first concern is human safety, and the environment," said Kip Knudson, a Tesoro spokesman. "We're not going to do anything rash."

Chilly weather has created severe icing conditions in Cook Inlet, and the vessel broke free after being struck by an ice floe that appeared to cause the mooring line to break, according to an Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation situation report.

On Monday, the Coast Guard had issued a notice about the severe icing conditions and warned that they could cause lines to part at the Nikiski dock. And after the incident, the Coast Guard shut down the loading dock at Tesoro's Nikiski refinery, pending the completion of an investigation of what went wrong.

The effort to refloat the vessel also will be complicated by the huge tidal swings and strong currents of Cook Inlet, which ranks as one of Alaska's most treacherous winter waterways.

Speaking at a Thursday afternoon news conference, officials said the vessel appeared to be in good shape, with its rudder undamaged and all tanks intact. The tanker was built in 1998.

If the tanker remains on the beach today, response teams may try to pump out at least some of the fuel before making another attempt to refloat the vessel during another high tide.

Most of the fuel aboard is a thick residual oil product with an asphaltlike consistency. Other fuels on board included bunker oil, gasoline and diesel.

At low tide, the vessel is entirely exposed. The longer the vessel stays on the beach, the greater the risk that the hull could be stressed and damaged, according to state officials.

Cook Inlet is a host to summer runs of salmon and a dwindling population of beluga whales. Federal officials have listed the belugas as "depleted" under the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Oil spills are difficult to clean up amid ice floes, and environmentalists have lobbied for years to have tugs alongside the vessels as they dock and take on fuel.

Such a tug likely could have prevented the Seabulk from drifting free, according to Bob Shavelson, executive director of Cook Inlet Keeper, an inlet-protection group.

Hal Bernton: 206-464-2581 or hbernton@seattletimes.com