F/V OCEAN PACIFIC; Tongass Narrows, Ketchikan, Alaska

Tongass Narrows, Ketchikan, Alaska | 1989-Aug-12

Initial Notification: At 2024 on August 12, 1989, the fish processor OCEAN PACIFIC, sank in 22 fathoms of water at its mooring in Tongass Narrows. The vessel contained 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel oil; five barrels of lube oil; five barrels of aviation gas; 150-pound bottles of anhydrous ammonia, chlorine, acetylene, and oxygen; and 2,150 pounds of anhydrous ammonia in the vessel's refrigeration system. When it sank, the OCEAN PACIFIC had an estimated 200,000 pounds of processed and packaged pink salmon in the freezer hold and 120,000 pounds in two refrigerated seawater tanks. Initially, the vessel leaked at an estimated 10 gallons per minute, creating sheening and recoverable oil in the Narrows. Divers plugged the vents and reduced the discharge to an estimated one gallon per hour. A salvage vessel was on scene and containment boom, lined with sorbent boom, was maintained around the wreck. Oiling was reported several miles north and south of the sunken vessel. Attempts were made to pump off the fuel in the vessel's tanks. USCG district 17.