Cruise Ship Runs Aground in Alaska

[tadjr]

Cruise Ship Runs Aground in Alaska

 

 

 

Aug 1, 9:50 AM (ET)

 

 

UNALASKA, Alaska (AP) - The cruise ship Clipper Oydssey ran hard aground on rocks in the Aleutian Islands, forcing 153 passengers and crew to transfer to other ships and spilling an undetermined amount of fuel from a ruptured tank, the Coast Guard said.

 

No injuries were reported and the ship floated free with the tide early Sunday.

 

The accident at about 9:15 p.m. Saturday punctured both a 5,800-gallon fuel tank on the port side and a waste water tank, the Coast Guard said. The amount of fuel spill had not been determined, Lt. Asheley Bodkin said early Sunday.

 

Other vessels in the area, including fishing boats and a freighter, took 122 passengers and 31 crew members off the cruise ship and took them to the port of Unalaska, about 40 miles away, Bodkin said. Unalaska is about 800 air miles west of Anchorage.

 

Thirty-five crew members, two pilots and two Coast Guard personnel stayed on board.

 

After refloating, the 340-foot Clipper Odyssey was underway on its power Sunday to Unalaska, said Petty Officer Douglas Green.

 

The Coast Guard sent cutters, a helicopter and an airplane to the scene.

 

The ship had been headed west along the Aleutian chain although its destination was not immediately known.

 

The operator at the 340-foot Clipper Odyssey, Clipper Cruise Line of St. Louis, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

[Coral]

How awful!

[Flintstone]

How horrible!! That sure gives me something to think about before our first trip to Alaska!! I wonder how they would post to the "Honey or Vinegar" thread???

[lrn376]

I feel soooo bad for all those passengers.

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

 

Just glad that no one was injured.

:)

[Paulmj]

The Clipper Odyssey is a small ship. In order to compete with the more mainstream larger cruise ships, they advertise that they are able to go into areas where the larger ships cannot go.

 

This is probably because the smaller ship draws a lot less water and also because they push the envelope more than would the captain on a ship that costs hundreds of millions of dollars to build.

 

Considering the technology available for depthsounding as well as GPS positioning, the fact that this kind of accident can occur is pretty remarkable.

[Gardyloo]

As one who has spent more hours than I've cared to bobbing around Akutan Pass and the neighborhood, I imagine the pax have now seen more of the Aleutians than they bargained for. Big water out there. The accident happened at 9:15 PM apparently; it still should have been light, so the reports ought to be interesting.

[AlaskaOrBust]

My dh's cousin is (was?) the cruise director aboard that ship. I just got an e-mail from her forwarded to me of the incident. She didn't mention how it happened, just that the pax were all getting flown out yesterday and today and that the residents of the town they are in were being very hospitable.