Salvage tug arrives on scene at listing Cougar Ace, now adrift 127 miles from Amlia Island, Alaska

7/30/06

Juneau, Alaska

The Alaska Coast Guard has said that a salvage tug has reached the Cougar Ace, a disabled ship adrift 127 miles south of the Aleutian Islands.

The ship, loaded with nearly 5,000 Mazda automoblies, was still listing sideways about 60 degrees in relatively calm seas 127 miles south of Amlia Island.

The ship is now drifting at between 1 and 2 knots in an easterly direction. It had been drifting in a more northerly direction toward the Aleutians.

Another tug out of Dutch Harbor was expected to reach the ship Monday, and a third out of Seattle was to arrive Wednesday.

The 378-foot Coast Guard cutter Morgenthau is on scene monitoring the Cougar Ace for signs of pollution and tracking its movement.

Once the Makushin Bay is on scene the various salvage experts will assess the condition of the vessel and report salvage options to the Unified Command for action. Those reports will provide for accurate plans to right the vessel and safely tow it. Additional salvage equipment is being staged in Dutch Harbor.

Weather conditions on scene are reported as 12 knot winds from the southwest. Sea state is one foot seas with three foot swells. Conditions are overcast with intermittent rain and dense fog.

The amount of fuel on board has been confirmed as 113,500 gallons of Intermediate Fuel Oil (IFO) 380 and 33,000 gallons of marine diesel.