M/V Ranunculus incident at Hylebos West

Status updates

January 25, 2011

The Department of Ecology and U.S. Coast Guard are monitoring a 560-foot cargo bulk carrier that grounded at the Hylebos West log dock this afternoon. Both agencies will continue to monitor the carrier throughout the night. Ecology and Coast Guard inspectors are onboard to evaluate the ship's stability and determine the cause of the grounding.

On Tuesday, January 25, at 3:11 p.m. the M/V Ranunculus was reported to have grounded at Hylebos West. No spill has been reported. The vessel is 17,979 gross tons and is loaded with a cargo of logs and at least 400 Metric Tons of bunker oil. The vessel has an 8 degree list. There is no information on tank soundings or hull surveys at this time.

The U.S. Coast Guard is onboard and an Ecology vessel inspector is en route to the scene.  

January 26, 2011

The Department of Ecology and the U.S. Coast Guard continue to look into what caused the 560-foot ship to list about 8 degrees in Tacoma's Hylebos Waterway.

The ship's crew has returned the ship to upright. It appears the list was caused by cargo loading and ballast distribution. 

It was initially thought that the ship had grounded during low tide but following a dive team inspection, investigators determined the ship remained floating throughout the incident.

No damages were detected to the hull and no fuel was spilled. Boom was place around the ship as a precaution.