On Sunday, March 7, 2004, at about 7:37 p.m. (local time) the 607-foot container ship Kapitan Afanasyev reported a loss of propulsion at a position in the inbound vessel traffic lane approximately 1.2 miles south of Buoy ‘J’, west of the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This position put the ship about 1.3 miles inside the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the northern edge of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, but outside the established Area-To-Be-Avoided (ATBA). The report was made to the Cooperative Vessel Traffic Service at Tofino, British Columbia.

The Kapitan Afanasyev was in route to New Westminster, B.C. from Portland, Oregon.

Winds on-scene at the time were reported as south southeast at about 12 miles per hour and there was a reported westerly swell of about 10 to 18 feet. The initial reported drift of the ship was northwest at about 2 miles per hour.

Red dot indicates location where ship was when reported adrift, while the green square indicates the ship’s approximate anchored position on Swiftsure Bank where the BARBARA FOSS rendezvoused. [Note: Chart not for navigational purposes.]

At 7:40 p.m. the rescue tug, Barbara Foss, stationed at Neah Bay, Washington, was alerted to stand by. At 10:10 p.m. Transport Canada requested that the Kapitan Afanasyev be towed and/or escorted to Victoria, B.C. for inspection. The ship anchored in about 108 feet of water on Swiftsure Bank in Canadian waters (about 4 miles north northwest of Buoy ‘J’) at 11:15 p.m. The Barbara Foss was underway by 11:50 p.m. After having reduced speed during the 21-mile transit due to the high swell conditions, the Barbara Foss arrived on-scene at 2:31 a.m. on March 8th. The ship reported its engine repairs were completed at 11:45 a.m., about 16 hours after reporting the problem, and got underway with the Barbara Foss as an escort. The Barbara Foss escorted the ship until 12:30 p.m. when it was relieved by the tug Lindsey Foss.

While drifting from the initial reported position to its anchored position at Swiftsure Bank, the Kapitan Afanasyev covered about 5.5 miles in 3 hours 38 minutes for a calculated average drift speed of about 1.5 miles per hour.