Arctic Storm fire

Status updates

August 2, 2013

Using the onboard firefighting system, crew members successfully put out the vessel fire.  The U.S. Coast Guard ensured the majority of crew were safely evacuated from the vessel.  The vessel was towed to Aberdeen by the tug Terri L Brusco, arriving at about 10 p.m. on May 21st.  As a precaution, the vessel activated their oil spill contingency plan and alerted the local organization which manages response equipment in Grays Harbor, the Washington State Maritime Cooperative. The vessel still had 42 people on board.  The Arctic Storm was reported to contain approximately 188,000 gallons of diesel fuel.  No pollution or injuries have been reported.

Since there was no spill of oil during this incident, Ecology will not issue an enforcement action.

May 21, 2013

Ecology is working with the U.S. Coast Guard to respond to the Arctic Storm, a 314-foot commercial fish-processing vessel that lost power and propulsion on Monday May 20 after a fire broke out in the vessel’s engine room.

Crew members successfully put the fire out using the Arctic Storm’s fixed fire suppression system but the vessel was unable to regain power.

The Arctic Storm is currently located about 30 miles west of West Port in the Pacific Ocean but is under tow by the tug Terri L. Brusco. The tug is towing the Arctic Storm to the Port of Grays Harbor Terminal 3 in Hoquiam.

Ecology also is coordinating with the Washington State Maritime Cooperative (WSMC) to activate the oil spill readiness – or contingency – plan for the Arctic Storm. This action is being taken as precautionary measure. WSMC manages oil spill response equipment in Grays Harbor and will deploy oil containment boom around the Arctic Storm once the vessel is safely moored.

No pollution releases or injuries have been reported. The Coast Guard will conduct an investigation to determine the cause of the incident.