Weather permitting, work to remove a partly submerged tugboat at the National Guard Dock in Gastineau Channel, Alaska, was expected to be underway this month, the U.S. Coast Guard said Feb. 7.
The Coast Guard contracted salvage firm Melino’s Marine Services to perform the work of removing the tug by using a barge and crane system that came from Bellingham. Once removed, the tug is expected to be moved by barge to an out-of-state disposal site.
The tug had been partly submerged with an oil sheen since at least Dec. 29 when Coast Guard Sector Juneau first received word on the tug. The Coast Guard, City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and Melino’s Marine Services all responded to the incident.
“This interagency collaboration highlights the importance of our federal, state and local partners in mitigating and removing pollution threats from our waterways,” said Capt. Darwin Jensen, commanding officer of Sector Juneau. “These relationships have been instrumental to the success of this planning effort.”
