Marine Safety Field Office Anchorage, Alaska

M/V SELENDANG AYU

Aground in the Aleutians December 2004

Captain Ron Morris, FOSC

Commanding Officer, MSO Anchorage

2Capt R. J. Morris Mar 2005

SituationOn December 7, the crew of the M/V Selendang Ayu reported that they had lost power and were adrift off Unalaska Island. Efforts to tow the vessel failed and it went aground and broke apart between Skan Bay and Spray Cape at approximately 6pm, December 8.

The Selendang Ayu carried approximately 424,000 gallons of Intermediate Fuel Oil (IFO 380) and 18,000 gallons of Marine Diesel.

07 Dec 04

3Capt R. J. Morris Mar 2005

Situation.

08 Dec 04 11 Feb 05

4Capt R. J. Morris Mar 2005

Early Key Issues/best Practice

IMAT

• Decision memos

Documentation

Community liaison

Tribal/landowner interactions

Weather

Winter/summer plan

5Capt R. J. Morris Mar 2005

Community & Tribal Liaison Command post Unalaska, AK

Showed commitment to community

Community liaison Needs to be knownCreditable & approachable

Established meetingsCommunityCity officialsTribal leaders/eldersLand owners

6Capt R. J. Morris Mar 2005

Meetings--out ReachTwo-way Dialog

Build credibility/trust

Able to educate community on oil spills/impacts/actions

Ensure expert presents topic--Important

Able to gauge impacts of our actions/feedback

Open dialog/working relationship

7Capt R. J. Morris Mar 2005

Meeting Highlights MTGS: resulted in high buy in to

response operations

Learned timely information about local wx, currents, and fisheries patterns (critical to tracking oil spread)

Community raised concerns about potential impact on upcoming fisheries (led to established monitoring program; Transit routes for vessels; Achieved 100% zero tolerance)

8Capt R. J. Morris Mar 2005

Weather Driven Operations

9Capt R. J. Morris Mar 2005

Winter/Summer Plan

Safety Primary Concern

Booming of Salmon streams

Beach cleanup

Lightering

10Capt R. J. Morris Mar 2005

Winter/Summer Plan

Booming & beach cleanup

Major areas cleaned up

70% gross contamination removed

11Capt R. J. Morris Mar 2005

Winter/Summer Plan

Lightering complete

146,931 gallons of oil and oily liquid removed without incident

12Capt R. J. Morris Mar 2005

Soybeans everywhere

13Capt R. J. Morris Mar 2005

Joint Agency Issues Embedded enforcement

with response

No dual hats / bad idea

Hindered response

Loss of agency credibility

Agency accountable/role

14Capt R. J. Morris Mar 2005

Joint Agency Interactions

Permits (archaeological/land use)

Worked very well

Harbor of safe refuse

Never resolved

Access to outside equipment (authority to release)

Proved problematic early

Delayed some response capabilities

Dispersant use approval

Worked very well

15Capt R. J. Morris Mar 2005

Information Flow: Need It Now! Traditional information

streams (polreps) not sufficient in today's world

Need central site Web based Must be easy access

from anywhere Easy link to related

sites Adapts to response

needs

WebEOC (one possible solution)

16Capt R. J. Morris Mar 2005

Summary

Difficult situation:

1.  Loss of life

2. Immediate break up of vessel

3. Remote location in winter

4. Extreme exposure to severe weather

Positive:

1. Contingency plans worked

2. Great agency interactions/cooperation

3. Great community/native interest support allowed quick response

4. Mild Jan winter/storm conditions allowed beach cleanup and lightering operations