Auke Bay News

Coast Guard Sector Juneau and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation personnel are investigating the spill of approximately of 50-100 gallons of petroleum products at the Auke Bay Harbor, Monday. Southeast Alaska Lighterage has been contracted to contain and mitigate the spill and they have deployed more than 1000-feet of boom and other absorbent materials to contain and mitigate the spread of the spill. Coast Guard Sector Juneau received a report of a petroleum spill in Auke Bay Harbor Sunday evening and dispatched investigators. “Our primary concern is containing the spill and mitigating damage to the environment,” said Lt. Mickey Sanders, with the Coast Guard Sector Juneau Response Department. The cause of the spill is under investigation.

NOAA ship John N. Cobb, the oldest and only wooden hulled ship in the NOAA fleet, was decommissioned in after 58 years of service. The 93-ft. fisheries research vessel began service in 1950 with the Bureau of Fisheries, predecessor to NOAA's Fisheries Service, conducting albacore tuna surveys in , , and . Homeported in , Cobb has operated primarily in Alaskan waters for much of her service life, most recently in support of the fisheries service's Auke Bay Laboratories in . "The John N. Cobb has been an extremely productive platform for NOAA.

Whittier. 26, following nearly a month of crew and route training. System. said. training for the vessel, which should wrap-up by August 12. the ports she will serve in Prince William Sound. benefit is in getting the training taken care of this summer. right away,” he said. 250 passengers and 35 average sized vehicles. a 60 ft. beam and an 8 ft. draft. driving four Kamewa waterjets. speed of 42 knots. It was constructed by Derektor Shipyards of Bridgeport, Connecticut at a cost of $38 million.

The M/V Taku rescued the crew of a fishing tender after it had run aground on Gull Island in Lynn Canal early Saturday morning, according to the Alaska Marine Highway System. The Taku received a mayday call from the fishing tender Stella, stating the ship was taking on water and the crew was preparing to abandon ship. The Taku was approximately 25 minutes away and responded to the U.S. Coast Guard call for assistance along with the tug Western Mariner. The Taku arrived on scene and launched a lifeboat, which recovered three crewmembers that had been floating in a liferaft. The crewmembers were brought aboard the Taku and given coffee, breakfast and a stateroom. had no injuries, according to the Coast Guard. The lifeboat was secured and the Taku left for Auke Bay.

The voyage of F/V Lady Jane was terminated for a safety violation by USCGC Liberty. The vessel's captain, Auke Bay resident Jacob Hallingstad, and his two crewmen, Trevor Kearney and Lynn Marks, were escorted from Stephen's Passage into Harris Harbor after a boarding team from Liberty discovered the vessel had only one immersion suit aboard. Safety laws require one immersion suit to be aboard for each person sailing on the vessel.

Wesport Shipyard's 100-ft. Admiralty Wind has been chosen by Four Seasons Marine, in Alaska, to be its year-round vessel for two 38-mile round trips per day. The company already operates Westport fiberglass passenger boats on seasonal tours of the Inland Waterway. Admiralty Wind will make the two trips daily to Admiralty Island from Auke Bay near Juneau. The company transports miners to the island to connect with busses to take them inland to Kenicott Copper's Greens Creek Mine. Captain Robert Patronsky said, in addition to rugged dependability, speed is important for the service. The new 100 x 22.8 ft. vessel will have a cruising speed of 28 knots.

A USCG boat crew from Station Juneau cited and terminated a commercial fishing boat crews' operations in Stephen's Passage. The USCG crew stopped 31-ft. gillnet boat Lil' Lugger for a federal requirements compliance check. The boat contained only one immersion suit for three fishermen. The Station Juneau crew also noted an insufficient number of fire extinguishers and sound producing devices used for signaling help during distress situations. Following the boarding, the USCG crew terminated the vessel's fishing trip and escorted the crew to Auke Bay.