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T/V Arco Anchorage; Port Angeles Harbor, Port Angeles, Washington

Port Angeles Harbor, Port Angeles, Washington | 1985-Dec-21

Initial Notification: At 1626 on December 21, 1985 the Tank Vessel ARCO Anchorage ran aground while anchoring in Port Angeles Harbor, Washington. The vessel was carrying 814,000 barrels of Alaska North Slope Crude Oil en route from Valdez, Alaska to the Cherry Point Refinery in Bellingham, Washington. Weather conditions at the time of the incident were calm with a visibility of 3 miles. The vessel was holed in two cargo tanks resulting in the loss of 5690 barrels of oil into Port Angeles Harbor. Internal transfer of cargo from the holed tanks stopped the discharge of oil into the water by 2052, December 21. The ARCO Anchorage remained aground until 0244, December 22 when it was refloated and moved to deeper anchorage within Port Angeles Harbor. Through discussions with the Canadian Coast Guard it was decided that invocation of the joint U.S. Canadian response plan (CANUSPAC) was not necessary, but that close contact would be maintained. An ARCO spill response team was activated from Long Beach, California. Under the influence of wind and tides, the oil was carried to the west almost to Neah Bay and to the east to Dungeness Spit. No impacts were observed in Canada from this incident. Cleanup activities were suspended on April 7, 1986. USCG district 13. Keyword: National Wildlife Refuges, adverse weather conditions, International Bird Rescue and Research Center (IBRRC), volunteers, skimmer, vacuum truck, reoiling, sub-surface oil, Open Water Oil Containment and Recovery System (OWOCRS), Air-Deliverable Anti Pollution Transfer Systems (ADAPTS), boom, sorbents, manual removal.

Incident Details
Primary threat:Oil
Tags:Collision
Products of concern:Alaska North Slope Crude Oil
Total amount at risk of spill: 239,000 gallons
Latitude (approximate): 48° 7.00′ North
Longitude (approximate): 123° 27.00′ West
On-Water Recovery: Unknown/Not applicable
Shoreline Cleanup: Unknown/Not applicable
Dispersants: Evaluated but not used
In-Situ Burn: Unknown/Not applicable
Bioremediation: Unknown/Not applicable