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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Probe begins into grounding of tanker

Associated Press

SEATTLE – A criminal probe into the grounding of a cargo ship that resulted in six deaths and a major oil spill has begun in Anchorage, Alaska, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported in a copyright article Thursday.

At least one FBI agent, two Coast Guard investigators and an Environmental Protection Agency investigator are trying to determine whether negligence contributed to the loss of the 738-foot Selendang Ayu, owned by IMC Group of Singapore, the P-I reported.

Salvage crews have been asked to look for any engine room records that remain on the rear end of the Malaysia-flagged ship, which ran aground and split in two off Unalaska Island in the Aleutians.

The probe was confirmed by FBI agent Colton Seale, who would not discuss details. Bill Dunbar, an EPA spokesman in Seattle, confirmed that his agency had “someone who is helping out.”

The Coast Guard investigators could not be reached by the newspaper for comment.

The Post-Intelligencer learned of the investigation when an FBI agent in Anchorage called a reporter to ask for the telephone number of Sunita Yadav, the wife of Narendra Yadav, 52, the ship’s chief engineer, who is missing and presumed dead, the newspaper reported.

In an interview last month from her home in India, Yadav told the newspaper her husband complained of difficulty spare parts for the engine shortly before the grounding.

“He said this engine has been giving us trouble for a lot of time,” she said.

IMC spokesman James Lawrence wrote in an e-mail that the company is involved in the probe.

“In instances like this, it is absolutely appropriate for due diligence to look at everything from every angle,” Lawrence said. “We are cooperating fully as we have from the very start with the investigation.”