Gas Carrier Grounded by Tropical Storm

Coast Guard personnel deployed to San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic to support Dominican Republic authorities during salvage operations of Liberian gas carrier SCF Tomsk which ran aground Monday.

Dominican Republic authorities have established a Unified Command to coordinate salvage operations between local agencies and the marine industry responding to the incident. The Nodrog Shipping Corporation owned vessel has hired marine salvage company Titan to conduct salvage operations.

The 551-foot gas carrier completed offloading liquefied petroleum gas at the Coastal Petroleum Dominicana, S.A. facility in San Pedro de Macoris Monday, when the vessel broke loose from its offshore moorings and grounded on the reef line during Tropical Storm Noel.

Coast Guard Sector San Juan operation's controllers received initial notification at approximately 1 p.m. Monday from the U.S. Coast Guard liaison in the Dominican Republic that the double-hull gas carrier ran aground 70 yards from the shoreline, approximately 200 yards east from the Coastal Petroleum Dominicana facility, and that all 23 ship crewmembers aboard were reported safe and in good health.

The SCF Tomsk is reportedly carrying approximately 1.5 million gallons of liquefied petroleum gas, 330,000 gallons of fuel oil and 33,000 gallons of diesel. Currently, the vessel is reported being stable and no products aboard the ship are leaking into the water.

Upon request from Dominican Republic authorities to the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, the Coast Guard deployed three personnel from Sector San Juan to provide technical assistance to Dominican Republic authorities during SCF Tomsk response operations. The crew of an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Borinquen also deployed to San Isidro, Dominican Republic to provide aerial and possible Search and Rescue support during response operations to the grounding.