Alaska Ferry Runs Aground
Coast Guard crews were continuing to respond to the Alaska Marine Highway System ferry LeConte that struck rocks, grounded and began taking on water about 30 miles north of Sitka in Peril Strait near Cozian Reef. Coast Guard helicopter crews from Sitka, along with the Cutters Maple and Anacapa, are assisting along with a variety of Good Samaritans including tugboat crews and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration vessel John Cobb. The 86 passengers and non-essential crewmembers from the ferry have been safely transferred to two Allen Marine catamarans, the St. Eugene and the St.
Crowley Refloats Stranded Passenger Ferry
Crowley Marine Services refloated the passenger ferry Le Conte, which had run aground about 30 miles north of Sitka, Alaska on Monday, May 10. Crowley, under contract with the Alaska Marine Highway System, floated the Le Conte off Cozian Reef. The salvage team made internal and external surveys and the Le Conte is presently being towed to the Ketchikan Ship Yard by the tug Chahunta with Crowley's salvage vessel, the American Salvor, escorting. The 31-year-old ferry was transiting from Angoon to Sitka with more than 100 passengers and crewmembers onboard, when it struck the reef located in Peril Strait. All of the passengers were successfully evacuated by the Coast Guard and local private watercraft immediately following the grounding with only a few people sustaining minor injuries.
Nichols Brothers Launch Sternwheeler Cruise Ship
Nichols Brothers Boat Builders of Whidbey Island and Seattle-based American West Steamboat Company, owned by Henry Hillman, Jr., CEO of Oregon Rail Corp., have launched the newly constructed overnight sternwheeler cruise ship Empress of the North. Beginning at 5:00am on Monday, June 16, 2003, the 360-foot sternwheeler was transferred on a specially designed rail system into Holmes Harbor, where it launched at high tide at approximately 8:45pm. With the launch open to the public, an estimated 5,000 people showed up for the event. Designed by Seattle naval architects, Guido Perla & Associates, construction of the Empress of the North began at Nichols Brothers’ shipyard in April, 2002.
