U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Response to
Vessel Grounding/Oil Spill off Unalaska Island
December 30, 2004: After the Christmas weekend storms forced everyone
back to Dutch Harbor, operations are again underway in the Selendang
Ayu spill area. The Service personnel on site are hoping for increased
opportunities to access beach sites in the weeks ahead. These will
help provide a more accurate picture of the species and numbers of
animals already impacted, and those most at risk.
It is also important to have people on shore to “ground truth”
the observations made during fly-overs, which can miss oiled areas
due to the presence of black sand and rocks or wave action, which
can “scrub” the upper layer of gravel, etc. while driving
oil deep into the underlying strata. Another part of the on-shore
job, carcass collection, will help to prevent secondary oiling of
predators that might be attracted to this carrion. This may also provide
information about which species and types of species are experiencing
the greatest impact, which could result in more effective protection
efforts.
Though the time that Service biologists have been able to spend ashore
to date can be measured in hours rather than days, it provides some
evidence of what we might see as we are able to walk more miles of
beach. Earlier this week, for example, two Service staffers, after
landing via helicopter, walked a total of approximately 300 yards
on two Skan Bay beaches in search of carcasses. They collected 45
oiled bird carcasses during these brief examinations.
As always, look to the Unified
Command website for additional information and updates:
CORRECTION: Many earlier reports, including
some on this website, have referred to the oil in the Selendang Ayu’s
main tanks as “Bunker C” oil. Subsequently, we’ve
learned that the more specific term to describe the fuel oil carried
by the vessel is “Intermediate Fuel Oil (IFO 380).” Click
here for a description
of the properties and behavior of this substance.
Updates will be made to this site over the New Years weekend only
if new information warrants.
