Tug runs aground in Alaska sound

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A tugboat put in service to help prevent another oil spill disaster in Prince William Sound ran aground on the same reef as the Exxon Valdez did 20 years ago in what remains the nation’s worst oil spill.

The Coast Guard said Thursday that the 136-foot tug, called the Pathfinder, with six crew aboard, had just completed an ice survey and was heading back to port in Valdez when it grounded on Bligh Reef. The tug reported the grounding in a radio call at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday.

Two of the tug’s fuel tanks were damaged. The tanks contain an estimated 33,500 gallons of diesel fuel, about a quarter of their total capacity.

The Coast Guard said Thursday that there was a fuel sheen about three miles long and 30 yards wide that had drifted away from the vessel. There was no sheen visible around the tug.

An oil response vessel had arrived and was skimming the water near the diesel sheen on Thursday afternoon.

Chief Petty Officer Dana Warr said some amount of fuel remained in the tug’s two tanks, but the amount of remaining fuel was not known. A barge was being brought to the scene to prepare off-loading the fuel.

A dive team conducting a hull inspection found extensive damage to the Crowley Marine Services tug. A 4- to 5-foot section of the keel also was missing.