Cruise Ship Grounding
Dumps 100 Gallons Of Fuel In Accident
Island Champion PC Northwest Charters - April 15, 2007
Island Champion is owned by PC Northwest Charters and appears to have been outfitted as a commercial cruise ship, with a history as a old wooden tug boat.
The ship ran aground in Steamboat Slough on the Snohomish River in Everett, Washington, with 1,500 gallons of diesel fuel onboard.
Most of the spilled diesel was contained by a floating boom until it could be safely removed from the water. The owner of the vessel called out Global Diving and Salvage, which placed the boom up around the vessel.
Larry Altose, a spokesman for the state Department of Ecology said absorbent pads also were used to sop up the fuel.
The vessel ran aground about 6pm when it tried to turn around in the slough.
The diesel fuel started leaking about 4 a.m. Monday. That's when the cruise ship started listing in the water at a 45-degree angle. That allowed a fuel vent to drop below the water's surface, allowing the diesel to leak.
The salvage company had the fuel vent capped by 7am to prevent any more leaking. The next day the balance of the ship's fuel had been drained.
The boat righted itself Monday evening as the tide came up. It was moved into deeper waters where it could be scrubbed.
Crews were going to move the vessel to its permanent mooring spot on Ebey Island at 4 a.m. on April 17, 2007, or at high tide
More groundings and sinkings are HERE
