M/V Star Princess; Juneau, Alaska

Juneau, Alaska | 1995-Jun-23

Initial Notification: On June 23, 1995, en route from Skagway to Juneau, the 800-foot cruise vessel, M/V Star Princess, owned by Princess Cruises, Inc., grounded on Poundstone Rock, 25 miles northwest of Juneau. The 800-foot cruise vessel had 271,000 gallons of IFO-380 and 2,000 passengers onboard. Several gashes in the hull causef breaching of several fuel and non-fuel tanks; however, less than 100 gallons of fuel were lost, and the vessel made it 15 miles farther south to Auke Bay with no further fuel release. In Auke Bay, the vessel dropped anchor and was surrounded with boom to catch additional releases. None occurred. A sheen extended south of Poundstone Rock for a few miles amid conflicting reports of whether it contained any recoverable oil. Brisk winds and choppy seas at the grounding site combined to rapidly disperse the oil slick and no recovery was attempted. At Auke Bay the weather was calm with overcast skies. Most of the IFO was lightered from damaged tanks into undamaged tanks. After temporarily plugging the holes in the hull with wood plugs and epoxy, the vessel was allowed to sail south to Portland for repairs. Media interest throughout the incident was high. USCG district 17. Keyword: salvage.