T/B Boxer fuel/cargo barge; Anchor Point, Alaska

Anchor Point, Alaska | 1997-May-17

Initial Notification: On May 16, 1997, the 130-foot barge, T/B Boxer, ferrying 50,000 gallons of diesel fuel through rough seas ran hard aground on the rocky eastern shores of Togiak Bay in southwestern Alaska. The center hold, where no fuel was stored was holed; the diesel was in the fore and aft compartments. No oil was released. The owner, Northcoast Fisheries Seafood Processors Inc. of Seattle, hired a lightering company from Dillingham, who was unable to reach the barge until the evening of May 18. High winds and seas prevented significant lightering for the first couple of days, but then the winds calmed some and the full lightering of the fuel tanks was accomplished by May 22. During this removal, a crack in one of the tanks did allow roughly 30 gallons of fuel to escape. CHADUX, the non-persistent oils coop for Alaska, also was on-scene and assisted in the lightering, booming, and planning for a possible release. The USCG was represented on-scene to oversee removal activities. USCG district 17. Keyword: salvage.