M/V Monarch/Granite Pt.Platform; Upper Cook Inlet, Alaska

Upper Cook Inlet, Alaska | 2009-Jan-15

Initial Notification: Sector Anchorage notified the NOAA SSC at 0615, Thursday morning, that the Ocean Marine Services, Inc. workboat, the M/V Monarch, had become pinned against the leg of the Granite Pt. platform, as the combined result of a strong flood tidal current and extreme ice. The vessel has about 38,000 gallons of diesel onboard, is currently listing at around 30 degrees, and has been successfully abandoned. In addition, the Granite Pt. platform has been shut-in and abandoned, as the result of concern for possible damage to the platform. It appears that SSC may be headed on-scene. The CG and the SSC headed on-scene via a CG C-130 which overflew the Granite Pt. platform and the overturned Monarch hull just barely showing above the surface of the water. A couple of hours later it was reported that the Monarch had sunk to the seafloor in rougly 80 to 90 feet of water. Due to the ice and strong currents, it was decided to attempt a salvage operation in the spring. However, in March it was announced that the Monarch would be left on the bottom of Cook Inlet adjacent to the Granite Pt. platform.