Tugs DE DA and BARBARA FOSS work to get the drifting 906-foot tanker ATIGUN PASS back under tow. The 321-foot tug DE DA is in foreground, the 126-foot tug BARBARA FOSS can be seen beyond the tanker. Picture courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard. (Select to enlarge picture.)
A potential environmental calamity was averted during Thanksgiving week, when a decommissioned oil tanker drifting for five days off the Washington and Oregon coasts was finally brought under control by the combined efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard, the tanker’s Netherlands-based shipping agent, and the Washington Department of Ecology.
The ATIGUN PASS was being towed by the tug DE DA from Portland, Oregon to China to be scrapped. It was carrying about 25,000 gallons of residual fuel and other oils.
During the incident, the crews of the Foss Maritime and Crowley Marine tugs BARBARA FOSS, SEA VICTORY and SEA VENTURE performed admirably under difficult weather conditions to assist the tug DE DA in recovering the drifting ATIGUN PASS. The services of professional salvers from Rivtow Marine, some of whom were airlifted to the drifting tanker, were also key to the success of the operation. Helicopter pilots from the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Astoria and a private helicopter service, Helicopter AirTransport, also aided in the operation.
Link to additional information and chronology.
Link to U.S. Coast Guard press releases about the ATIGUN PASS.